> Fellowship is Magic
>  by Mr-War
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Accident
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Accident


Twilight mumbled to herself as she walked around the magic mirror, examining it from every accessible angle. Several paces away from her was a tool box, laying open, with its contents open and spread across the crystal flooring. Gripped between her teeth currently was a Phillips head screwdriver, as she analyzed the construct, and tried to determine how to proceed.

Unfortunately the screwdriver was useless to her right now. To make use of it, she'd need to hold it at an angle she simply couldn't get to. She'd need to first make use of a socket and ratchet wrench to move another piece of equipment out of the way, before she could get to where the screws were at.

"I really should've thought this design out a little better, before I constructed it," she said to herself as she deposited the screwdriver back on the ground, before retrieving the needed tool. "I really should've done what those humans in the movie do, and included a single connection point that would disable everything in the event of an emergency," she sighed, lips wrapped around the handle of the wrench as she made her way back around to behind the mirror.

This would've been so much more convenient if she was human, and could more easily utilize the tools for this project. At the very least she wouldn't have to taste the steel against her tongue, if she had hands to manipulate them with. But that simply wasn't the case, and she had to make due with what she had available to her.

"Twilight?"

Her attention was broken from the task at hoof with the mirror, and brought towards the direction of the door. She saw Spike and their friends standing there, gathered in the doorway, with Rainbow Dash casually hovering in the air. Spike looked concerned, while the others just looked curious about everything.

"What exactly are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked as she hovered into the room.

Twilight was about to answer, but realized the wrench in her mouth was going to make that difficult to do. She set the ratchet down on the floor, before moving back to address her.

"I'm busy disconnecting the machinery from the magic mirror," she explained, gesturing to where the mirror currently rested. "Spike, I'm glad you're here. Could you swap out the socket for the next bigger size so I can get these lag bolts loosened up?"

"Uh... sure?" Spike replied, still not certain what was going on, but unwilling to just stand around.

"Ya mind if Ah ask ya somethin', sugarcube?" Applejack asked as she stepped into the room. "Ah reckon ya got good reason an', all, but how come yer doin' this like yer an earth pony? Why ain' ya usin' yer magic?"

"Well that would certainly be simpler, but right now my magic is a little indisposed," Twilight answered, before gesturing at her horn. Or more accurately, the ring resting halfway down the length of the horn.

Rarity squinted as she looked at the ring critically. To the untrained observer, it might pass as tarnished silver. But she had seen enough silver to know that it was anything but. This was nothing but polished wrought iron.

"A restraining ring, darling? Really? That's positively barbaric! Why would you ever wear something like that?" she asked, disgusted by the idea.

"A what now?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at Rarity for clarification.

"It's a device designed to keep a unicorn from accessing their magic. Usually it's just used in a judicial role when addressing a wrongdoing, although there are more unsavory applications its found a role in..." Rarity explained, equally disgusted by such. "Don't ask," she added, shutting down whatever was going to come out of Rainbow Dash's mouth next.

"Well that explains why yer not usin' yer magic. But why exactly are ya wearin' somethin' like that in the first place?" Applejack asked, more curious than before.

Twilight was about to explain the reasoning behind her actions, but stopped when she realized just how much time it was going to take to do that. Instead she simply gestured over to the lid of the tool box, where a rolled up scroll rested.

"It would be simpler if you read that," she stated simply.

Pinkie approached the tool box and picked up the scroll, the others approaching close behind to read what it had to say as it was unrolled.



Dear Princess Twilight,

I'm writing to inform you that the sun began experiencing increased solar activity sometime yesterday afternoon, resulting in a series of solar flares taking place across the sun's surface.

These solar flares pose no danger to Equestria's safety and well being, so there's no need to worry. They appear every few years, and have done so for many centuries without issue, although I don't know why they exist, or if there's a significance to either their timing, or their duration.

The primary hazard posed by the appearance of these solar flares tend to be limited to inconvenient interference with electronic devices, so impact will overall be minimal for the most part.

My primary reason for writing you about this, however, lays with the presence of the magic mirror, and is the chief reason that I had it put into storage in the first place. And seeing as it's now in your possession, you need to be made aware. Being an interdimensional portal, its stability is something we still don't fully comprehend. While it's primarily a theoretical issue at present, it's entirely possible that the magnetic interference from solar flare activity may interact with the magical field generated by the magic mirror, even when it's dormant. This is especially so, considering the technological additions you've included for the purpose of opening the portal at will for journeying between the two worlds.

Much as I hate to admit, there's an absence of scientific data about the validity of the theory, as I've always restricted access to it during these periods, to ensure the safety of everyone.

For your own safety, I would recommend disconnecting your modifications to prevent any unforeseen developments from occurring. I would further caution against utilizing any sort of magic within the presence of the mirror if at all possible, as it may trigger a cascade effect during this time.

Please be safe.


Signed, your friend and mentor,
Princess Celestia




There was a sudden lack of questions being asked in the aftermath. Everything was now making perfect sense in the context of Princess Celestia's letter.

"So... why'd Princess Celestia move the magic mirror here, if she knew this was gonna happen?" Applejack asked as she looked back at Twilight.

"Yeah. Isn't that, like, super irresponsible to do?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight just shook her head as she sat the ratchet back on the ground. "Princess Celestia's letter said that she didn't know anything about their timing, only that they occur every few years. That's hardly a specific measure of time. I'm guessing that she was expecting them a lot later in the future," she explained. "Applejack, you're really good with your hooves, could you help me with this? I don't have nearly enough experience to do this manually, and I need constant pressure being applied to one bolt, so I can get in and continue disconnecting everything I used to get the mirror functioning again."

"Um... what if we just lock the door?" Fluttershy asked, speaking up for the first time since they found Twilight toiling away at the magic mirror. "I mean... we already moved it to this room for storage and safe keeping, and there are no windows to it. Wouldn't it just be simpler to lock the room shut, so nopony could get in until it's safe?"

Twilight stopped her working, and turned around to look at Fluttershy. The meek pegasus shrunk back in response, acting as if she'd just said something that was very wrong, and should've just kept her mouth shut.

"That's... actually a very good idea, Fluttershy. It's so simple, but it makes so much sense! If there's nopony around in the room, then there's no risk of a cascade event being triggered. I should've thought of that myself!"

"Nice thinking, Flutters!" Rainbow Dash stated in a proud tone and raised her foreleg. However she quickly realized that Fluttershy was way too timid to actually meet her in return of the gesture, so she brought it back down.

"I can't believe I didn't think of that. Princess Celestia even said it in her letter," Twilight mumbled as she gripped the restraining ring between her fore hooves, and pulled it off her horn, nearly sighing in relief of feeling its burden removed from her. "Let's get out of here," she said as she dropped the ring to the ground, no longer needing it.

"Right behind you, darling," Rarity replied, relieved to not be facing any sort of crises right now. This was nothing but a problem that could literally be swept under the rug... or in this case, covered by a sheet to prevent dust from gathering. Just a quick flick, and the only thing left to do was shut the door behind them.

"NO!"

The sudden yell from behind startled Rarity, causing the sheet to drop to the floor as she jumped.

"Rarity! The letter said not to use any magic around the mirror! The results could be unpredictable!" Twilight yelled, a mix of anger and panic filling her voice as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, darling, it was purely out of habit!" Rarity stated in horror.

All eyes were on the mirror in an instant, inspecting it for any signs of something happening.

Much to their relief, nothing was happening. It looked no different than it had just a few minutes ago.

"Alright. I think we're alright. Let's just get out of here before something else happens," Twilight stated.

The others all nodded in agreement, and slowly began backing out of the room slowly, as if the slightest vibration could cause something bad to happen.

And then somepony sneezed, and sneezed loud.

Twilight didn't have a clue as to who it was that sneezed, nor did she get the chance to ask, as the question died in her throat as the surface of the mirror started shimmering and wobbling.

"Fffffudgecicles!"

There was a groan as the reflective surface of the mirror changed to display a swirling vortex. But it wasn't the same type of vortex that appeared the last time Twilight had gone through the mirror. This coloration was a lot darker, and more sinister. It looked like the sky over the Crystal Empire when Sombra had returned, and was trying to break through Cadance's shield.

And then the groan slowly grew into a roar, as the floor of the palace began to tremble.

The next thing they knew, the mirror was quickly being encased in Twilight's force field, cutting it off from the rest of them.

"This could get to be very bad, very quickly. Everypony, get out of here, quickly!" Twilight ordered.

"Um, we might have a little problem here," Rainbow Dash spoke up.

Twilight turned to look over at Rainbow Dash, and blinked to make sure she wasn't seeing anything. For whatever reason, her friends' mane was flowing outward, like wind was blowing it from behind. All of them were starting to display the same thing; even herself. But that couldn't be possible, unless...

"Oh no," she groaned, the realization hitting her like a grand piano. "Can anypony move? Back out of here?" she asked.

"Ah'm tryin', but Ah ain' getting nowhere," Applejack stated as she tried backing out of the room, but looked more like she was simply walking in place. "What in tarnation is goin' on here?"

"I think the vortex is starting to exert a gravity well on the area, that's pulling all organic matter in the area towards it. It's even managing to pull on us right through my force field, like it's not even there!" Twilight stated.

"Well let's stop talking about it and get the heck outta here!" Spike stated as he made a mad dash for the doorway. But much like Applejack, he wasn't getting anywhere in a hurry. If anything he was actually losing ground.

This was very, very bad. Not only could they not get away from the mirror, it was actually starting to succeed in pulling them all towards it. And it was starting to pull them a lot faster than before, like the gravity well was increasing in strength. By the time Twilight thought about teleporting them all out of the way, it was already far too late, as it would require dropping the shield first. And it was at that time, that they were all more or less slamming into the shield, with it being the only thing separating them from the vortex.

"Twilight, do something!" Rainbow Dash shouted, finding herself being sandwiched between the surface of the shield, and Pinkie being pressed into her back.

"I can't! I can't get us out of here without dropping the shield!" she stated in response as Spike clung to her back.

"Can't you, I dunno, expand the shield outward and push us away from it?" Spike asked her.

"I wish I could, but that would just make the matter worse. The gravity well is obviously increasing at an accelerated rate. If I tried pushing us away with the force field, we'd likely wind up getting crushed to death between the two fields," she explained, already feeling the force being exerted on her ribs reaching the unbearable level.

"My head feels like it's going to explode!" Fluttershy stated desperately.

Their options were terribly limited right now, and Twilight knew it. If she maintained her force field, it was possible that they could wait out the gravity well, and the vortex would just close. But it was equally possible that they'd be crushed flat before that ever happened. The only other option she could come up with right now, was dropping the shield, and letting them all be sucked into the vortex, with no guarantee of what would happen, or where they might even wind up. They could end up at Canterlot High, or an entirely different location, with no way of getting back home. She didn't even know if they'd all wind up in the same place.

"Twilight, just do something already, please! I think my eyes are gonna explode if I open them again!" Rainbow Dash pleaded.

So that was it then. The gravity well was showing absolutely no signs of letting up, and their bodies were already showing signs of physical strain from being sandwiched here. They really didn't have any other options available to them now.

"I'm sorry, everypony," she apologized, before cutting the flow of her magic to the shield, allowing it to dissipate, and leaving them to be pulled into the vortex, and cast who knew where.
> The Arrival
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Arrival


Twilight groaned, internally debating whether she wanted to cradle her aching head, or sit up and take stock of the situation.

Cradling her head eventually won out. Followed shortly afterward by opening her eyes, as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

The first thing she noticed, was the fact that it was really dark out. The second thing she noticed, was that she was outside; evident by the feel of hard dirt under her hooves.

"I don't think this is Canterlot High School. They've got cement there by the portal," she said to herself. Not seeing much options being available, she cast an illumination spell, bathing the entire area in a lavender light. This not only allowed her to observe her surroundings, but also find the others.

The good news. All of them were still together, and still alive from what she was seeing.

The bad news. She didn't know what sort of condition they were in, they were in unfamiliar territory, and she was seeing absolutely no sign of anything that resembled the magic mirror.

In simple terms, this was a potentially very, very bad situation.

"Don't panic, Twilight, don't panic. You know yourself well enough to know that if you lose your head, you'll never get out of this," she told herself firmly, doing her very best to keep calm, despite the desire to panic hard. "First thing's first, make sure everypony is alright. Then move from there."

She looked over the others, considering who to check on first. Ultimately she decided that it would be best to check on Spike, since he was closest, and she was still really sore right now.

"Spike... Spike..." she said softly, shaking him slightly on his back. She was rewarded for her efforts when he groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"Ugh... what happened?" he asked.

Twilight shook her head to signify the lack of understanding, and slightly winced when she concluded that neither her skull, brain, nor horn, appreciated the motion. "I- I don't know. All that I know is that the vortex we went through is gone, and we're not at Canterlot High School. Plus wherever we are, it's apparently night."

"Yeah, I can see that part for myself," he said dryly as he pushed himself up off the ground.

Rainbow Dash was the next to awaken, bolting up suddenly, her eyes shooting open as she looked around her frantically. Finally they settled on Twilight and Spike, and she made her way over to their position, wobbling as she did.

"Where in Celestia's name are we?" she asked.

"I don't really know, the last thing I can remember is the vortex pulling all of us into it. Then everything just sort of... went dark, and we ended here... wherever 'here' is," Twilight replied. She really didn't like to admit that she didn't have a clue about what was going on. But that was really the long and the short of it.

Rainbow Dash said nothing in response to this news, other than a noncommittal grunt, before she wobbled like a drunken mare over to where Fluttershy laid, and gently shook her to try and rouse her.

"Flutters... hey it's time to wake up," she said as she shook her. Much to her relief, Fluttershy slowly opened her eyes in response.

Figuring it would be best to assist, Spike went over to Pinkie, ready to wake her up.

"Pancakes shouldn't do that!"

However he immediately pulled back and fell on his scaly butt, as Pinkie shouted some nonsense he didn't understand, and leaped to her hooves like somepony had just poured ice water down her back.

Sometimes that mare really scared him.

Twilight just shook her head, again regretting the motion, before moving over to Applejack and Rarity, who were currently in a heap with one another. Under different circumstances, she might've just let them lay together and rest. But now wasn't the best of time for such.

"Come on, girls, it's time to get up," she said as she shook Applejack first.

Applejack grunted as she slowly came to. Blinking as her eyes adjusted to lavender light, she looked up at Twilight, and then down at Rarity who was entangled with her. She grunted as she shrugged the unicorn to wake her up as well.

She was rewarded for her efforts by a surprised yelp from Rarity, followed by a hoof being driven into her gut with enough force to topple her over on her back, which brought forth a grunt of pain, and a mix of mumbled Equestrian profanities, as she shot Rarity a dirty look.

Much to her credit, once Rarity realized what was going on, she was displeased at her actions.

"Oh, darling, I'm terribly sorry! I'm afraid I was having a rather horrible nightmare and I just... reacted..."

Applejack just grunted as she sat up and rubbed her belly with her hooves. Despite being a unicorn, Rarity had a pretty good kick to her. She couldn't help but wonder how the fashionista might do if she ever put some effort into apple bucking.

"Is everyone alright?" Twilight asked, now that everyone was both awake, and able to respond. Answers ranged from mumbles to straight answers, but all of them were in the affirmative. That was a bit of good news right now.

"This really doesn't look like a school," Fluttershy commented softly.

"No, it really doesn't. I don't even know where to begin speculation. But I think it's safe to speculate that, barring future evidence to the contrary, the vortex didn't take us to the world the magic mirror was directly connected to. We... we could quite literally be anywhere..." Twilight explained, slowly and uncomfortably, all the while trying to keep from panicking again.

Immediately, and without warning, Pinkie burst into tears.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed.

"Sorry for what, darling?" Rarity asked as she turned her attention to the pink mare.

"I'm the one that sneezed! I'm the one that caused the vortex thingy to form and bring us here! I'm so sorry!" she bawled.

Twilight blinked, and then sighed, before making her way over to Pinkie and hugged her, rubbing her back gently.

"You didn't do anything wrong, Pinkie, I doubt you sneezing made the vortex form," Twilight reassured her. "And even if it did happen like that, you're hardly to blame. Sneezing is hardly a blamable offense," she explained.

"But-" Pinkie tried to object, only to be cut off.

"Butts are for sitting on. You're not to blame, understand?" Twilight asked as she looked Pinkie in the eye. Slowly, Pinkie sniffled and nodded that she understood. "Good," she replied, before letting her friend go. That was one crisis avoided. Now they just needed to figure out where they were going from here.

"This here's a road we're on, right?" Applejack asked, deciding to change the subject to something else.

"It looks that way. And it looks rather well traveled," Twilight replied as she turned her focus to the hard ground underneath their hooves. And a well traveled road meant regular use, which also meant that it was a current trail. That meant wherever they were, this world had at least some form of civilization, as animals didn't utilize wagon wheels.

"So which way do we go?" Spike asked as he looked in both directions.

Twilight pondered for a moment on the question, but then she stopped. While it certainly made sense to consider seeking out civilization, that presented a complication. Should they leave, how would they be found? She had every reason to believe that Princess Celestia would come looking for them if she didn't hear back from them after enough time had passed. She had no reason to doubt that being the case. And if it was, then it was just a matter of time before they were found, and could return home.

Of course there was nothing to say that they couldn't hurry things along on their end...

"Spike. Take a letter."

"Uh... Twilight? I don't have any writing supplies on me. Do you?" he asked her.

No. She didn't. She frowned at this development, not liking being without quill, ink, or parchment. Her feathers could be used to substitute for the quills, but ink and parchment were another matter.

"I'm afraid not," she stated as she shook her head. "I don't really want to go too far from this spot though. If Princess Celestia doesn't receive a letter from us, saying that the mirror's been disabled for the solar flares, she might come and investigate, meaning that she might be able to find us, and bring us back home. All we need to do is try and be patient," she explained.

"But what if the vortex is already closed on the other end? How would the Princess even know to look outside of our world for us?" Rarity asked.

"An' if it is closed, how's Princess Celestia gonna get us home if it opened ta here by accident?" Applejack added.

Twilight didn't even hesitate before responding. "Discord."

"Discord?" the others asked in almost perfect unison.

Twilight nodded. "Do you think that, when he knows Fluttershy is missing, he's going to hesitate for even one minute, before making every effort to try and get his best friend back, safe and sound?" she asked. They had all seen at the Grand Galloping Gala how he could tear through the dimensional boundaries like it was wrapping paper. If he found out that Fluttershy was potentially in danger, he'd make a door, kick it down, and storm his way in like he owned the place.

"So all we gotta do is wait an' see?" Applejack asked.

"Pretty much," Twilight replied, feeling her confidence and certainty returning in light of this development.

For a moment, it was all silent in light of this news. Although that silence was broken by the sound of a twig snapping in the distance, causing Fluttershy to squeak, and hide behind Rainbow Dash.

"Now wha' could that be?" Applejack asked.

"Considering we're in an unfamiliar world... it could be pretty much anything," Twilight replied, "hang on. Let me get some altitude, and see if I can figure it out."

Unfortunately that's not exactly what happened. Instead of lifting off the ground with wing flaps guided by experience, Twilight screamed in pain and nearly fell to the ground with a violent twinge on her face.

"Darling, what's the matter?" Rarity asked as she approached, worried about what her friend was experiencing.

"I... I don't know. I tried to flap my wings, but they don't want to move. It hurts too much," Twilight stated as she cringed.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy mumbled. She could feel her care instincts taking over fear, and motivating her to make her way over to where Twilight stood to examine her wings, probing them gently with her hooves, and noting the responses she got. "I'm not an expert on ponies, but I think you suffered a pinched nerve somewhere in your back."

"Not good," Rainbow Dash commented at hearing this. Being an athlete, she had experience with things like pinched nerves at times, and it was never pretty.

"It's about to get a whole lot worse! Look!" Pinkie stated and pointed in the distance, as two glowing spheres were approaching them.

"W-what're we gonna do?" Spike asked nervously, his mind being filled with horrible, nightmarish possibilities at the sight of them. They looked like eyes made out of pure fire.

"Ah reckon we're gettin' a might worked up over nothin'," Applejack commented as she squinted. "Those are two lanterns that're comin' this way," she stated.

"Oh good then," Twilight replied as she relaxed. Lanterns meant signs of civilization, as only an intelligent species could construct, and make use of them. And slowly, the sounds of hoof beats, and wagon wheels could be heard approaching their position. "Looks like we're about to have company."




The hour was still quite early, being before dawn. But for the wizard known as Gandalf the Grey, that was minor to him as he rode along contentedly, allowing the rhythmic hoof beats to serve as an impromptu tempo to his thoughts. It had been a long time since he'd last seen Bilbo Baggins, or even visited the Shire for that matter. And tonight, it was going to be a grand celebration indeed.

The lanterns on the cart rattled as a bump was hit, swaying with the motion, but remains attached nonetheless, helping to illuminate his path.

Right now, however, there was another matter serving as illumination, and distracting him from his thoughts. It was a lavender light, whatever it was, out in the distance, and easily visible from a mile away in the darkness of the pre-dawn morning.

It was only once he got closer, however, that he could actually see any details within the light. And right now those details were pointing to six... horses? No. They were too small to be horses. Ponies would be more appropriate. Six ponies and one... was that a dragon with them? It certainly looked like a dragon from what he could see, but never had he seen one so small before.

As he got even closer, he could see something else that was off. Despite the lavender light affecting the coloring of the surrounding territory, he could tell that these ponies didn't have the traditional, natural coloring equines were known for. He could safely say that never before had he seen a more colorful bunch of ponies in his entire life.

Closer even still, and he began to make out certain features. Brand marks on their flanks that he didn't recognize. But standing out the most were how some had horns, others had wings, and one had both. One of them even wore a hat for some reason.

Slowing the cart, he came to a stop as the ponies and dragon took note of his presence, as he had no desire to spook them. And as he slowed to a stop, the one with both wings and a horn slowly began approaching him, the others remaining behind for whatever reasons motivated them.

The pony that approached him then started neighing softly, its mouth moving as if it were trying to communicate. But with it continually looking between him, and the horse pulling his cart, he wasn't sure what to make of it. He knew the Mearas were quite intelligent; far more intelligent than any other breed of horse. But he highly doubted that they would actually believe that they could communicate with man in the same spoken tongue. Whether this pony was a descendant of Felaróf was a question for which he had no answer.

"I'm afraid I can't understand you, little one," Gandalf stated softly. Experience with Gwaihir aside, he had no true manner of communicating with animals, beyond those of any other man.

Whether or not this fact was understood by the pony, he didn't know. All he knew was what he saw; that being a random stick being levitated off the ground, one end being wrapped in a lavender glow that matched that coming from the pony's horn.

Magic. An animal that could work magic like a trained wizard. This day was proving to be full of surprises. Surprises that just grew, as the combination of light from his wagon, and the pony's horn, allowed him to observe the equine actually using the stick to scratch something into the ground.

He observed as the scratches in the beaten path took form, slowly coming together to form a picture. From this angle it looked almost like a... a picture of a lantern.

Another series of scratches followed below it. These, he had no idea what they were. But if he were to hazard a guess, he'd say they were supposed to be letters.

The pony looked back up at him from its work on the road, and then used the stick to gesture to one of the lanterns, before giving a soft, short neigh. Perhaps it was trying to start a conversation?

Another gesture. Another neigh he had no chance of understanding.

"Lantern," he replied.

Another gesture. Another neigh.

"Lantern," he repeated, slower this time.

Another gesture. Another neigh.

"Lantern," he repeated, slower still.

"Lllll..."

Another neigh. But this time it sounded different than before.

"Llll... l-l-laaaa..."

Another neigh that sounded strangulated, even more than before. This was growing more interesting by the minute.

"L-l-l... l-l-lan... lan... tern..."

Were his ears playing tricks on him? Or had the pony actually spoken a word of man?

"L-l-lan... tern..."

A second utterance. His ears were working just fine, apparently.

"Lan-tern!" the pony stated, more forcefully than the last time. It almost sounded like it was speaking with confidence.

"Lantern," he replied, chuckling a bit at the pony's perceived exuberance.

"Lantern!" the pony repeated.

Perhaps this pony really was one of Felaróf's descendants after all.




"So... what exactly are they doin' over there?" Applejack asked as she and the others simply watched what was transpiring. Whoever -and whatever- Twilight was talking to, had climbed down off of the cart, and sat on the ground as she had, each of them taking turns scratching things into the dirt with sticks.

Twilight was spouting off all manner of random words with no context as to what was being said, and drawing things on the ground. Then the stranger would say something in a language they didn't understand, and Twilight would try and do the same thing.

This had been going on for nearly 20 minutes, and still wasn't making much sense.

"I think she's trying to learn the language," Rainbow Dash spoke up. Spike and the others all turned to look at her for clarification. "Daring Do did the same thing in "Quest for the Emerald Hoof" when she got stranded in a remote village. She had to learn the native's language, one word at a time," she explained.

"But didn't that take her months to do?" Pinkie asked as she tilted her head. She really didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"Yeah. It did," Rainbow Dash replied and nodded as she recalled the details. She didn't know how Daring Do had the patience to do something like that, but apparently she did. "I'm not seeing much other option though. There's no telling how long it might take Princess Celestia to find us."

For a while, they simply remained silent, and observed as Twilight went about trying to get a grasp of the language of this world, doing their best not to disturb her focus.

Unfortunately that left them waiting, and waiting.




"Bored..." Rainbow Dash groaned as she rolled over onto her back, unsatisfied with how things had been proceeding. She stopped paying attention who knew how long ago, as it was too hard to stay focused. "It's starting to get light out, too..."

"I just thought of something," Spike spoke up, bringing the others out of whatever they'd been distracting themselves with. "Fluttershy? Do you think you can talk to the one pulling the cart? It's basically just another pony, right?" he asked.

"Oh. I don't really know. Twilight tried talking to him, but he didn't show any signs of understanding what she said. Maybe the equines of this world speak a different language as well," Fluttershy replied. She didn't want to admit to it, but she felt intimidated just looking over at him. Whoever he was, he was as tall as Princess Celestia, and the Saddle Arabians. Even just approaching felt daunting to try and consider.

"Eureka!"

There was a sudden, excited yell from Twilight that caused them all to jump in surprise and look in her direction. And just as suddenly was a sharp, warm tingling to each of their heads, bringing about an intense, but incredibly short-lived headache, that passed just as easily as it had come, with no explanation whatsoever.

"Ugh. What happened?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That was even worse than brain freeze," Pinkie stated as she rubbed her head.

"Girls!" Twilight called as she approached them at a quick canter pace, the bipedal stranger following behind at their own pace.

"Darling, what's going on?" Rarity asked, her head still feeling a bit tender from the sudden pain she'd been subjected to. "What has gotten you yelling?"

"A significant breakthrough. After a lot of trial and error, and a fair bit of experimentation, I think that I've finally gotten a grasp of how the language of this world works. I've already mapped out about 100 different words, so I have a very good idea of the phonetics involved, and how to translate between our two languages," Twilight explained, beaming with excitement.

"Now that's mighty impressive, sugarcube," Applejack commented, impressed by her friend's accomplishment. She'd been trying to pay attention as the two conversed, but most of what the tall stranger had said, had sounded like pure gibberish to her, and she was easily lost.

"Your friend is quite resourceful in her endeavors."

All eyes were suddenly on the stranger at the words spoken. Or rather the spoken words that were understood to all of them.

"Twilight, I thought you said you were trying to learn the language, not the other way around," Spike commented.

"Oh, but she did indeed, little one," the stranger replied calmly. "Had I not been present to witness the learning process for myself, I would have trouble believing it as well, even with all that I have seen in my life."

"Alright, egghead, start explaining," Rainbow Dash stated, annoyed at the lack of answers being supplied. "If you learned the language, not the other way around, how can we understand each other?" she asked.

"Well you see, it's like this..." Twilight started.

What immediately followed was an extensive explanation pertaining to how she had selected as many varying words as she could, accompanied by crudely drawn pictorial representations etched into the dirt to add context to the words, and comparisons between their respective alphabets, that enabled her to grasp the phonetic differences between the two languages, in order to gain an understanding of what was being said.

Needless to say, it went over most of their heads, as there were far too many magical mechanics to be understood. Even Pinkie, who had understood Twilight's explanation of how she used Sunset Shimmer's journal to get the magic mirror working, was hopelessly incapable of understanding this one; a fact perfectly illustrated by her eyes spinning like pinwheels at certain points.

"... And once I had all that figured out, it was simply a matter of modifying one of the translation spells of our world, to take into account the language of this world, and properly apply it to ourselves," she finished. "If it weren't for being an alicorn, it would've been quite an undertaking, and I'm not sure that I could've done it."

"Remind me never to ask again," Rainbow Dash mumbled as she rubbed her head.

"So wha' yer sayin' is we're speaking this here fella's language rather than our own?" Applejack asked.

"As much of it as I've been able to translate so far," Twilight replied. She was sure there were a lot more phonetics that hadn't yet been uncovered, but for the time being, it was the best she could do. "Anyway, girls, this gentleman is Gandalf the Grey. Gandalf, these are my friends. Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Spike," she said, introducing each one of them in turn, and gesturing with a hoof as she spoke their names.

"Howdy," Applejack replied as she tipped her hat in greeting.

"Are there any Gandalfs of other colors?" Rainbow Dash asked.

At hearing that Gandalf let out a chuckle. It wasn't the polite sort of chuckle one gave when faking amusement at poor humor. Rather it was the deep, rich chuckling that one gave when they were truly amused by something that one had said.

"There are quite certainly other wizards of differing colors. But I am the only Gandalf that I have ever come across in all my journeys," he replied.

"Wait, you're a wizard? You mean he knows magic?" Spike asked.

Twilight nodded. "I could sense something when we first met, although it took me a while to figure out what it was. The magic of this world has a different feel from the magic back home," she explained.

"I say, that's quite a stroke of luck, to come across not only a wizard, but apparently one who would have knowledge of foreign magic. Perhaps that means this, er, gentleman as you said, could help us return home?" Rarity asked hopefully.

"Oh. About that, I... haven't really asked yet..." Twilight replied sheepishly. She'd been so caught up in figuring out how to work out a method of communication between them, she'd foregone everything else. she then directed her attention to where Gandalf stood. "Do you know how we might be able to get back home?"

"That... is a fairly difficult question to answer as is," Gandalf replied. There was too much left to speculation for him to say yes or no just yet. "Tell me, from which part of Middle Earth do you seven hail from?" he asked.

"Middle Earth?" Twilight asked and blinked. She'd have to ask more about that later, otherwise she'd risk getting distracted in learning more about their surroundings. "We're really not from around here at all. We... as best as I can tell, we come from a different dimension of sorts," she stated, before giving a fairly details recollection of what had brought them all to this world they found themselves in, ranging from the letter, to the solar flares, to the mirror activating on its own, and finally waking up in the middle of the road.

Gandalf listened as the tale unfolded, patiently, and intently. He would admit that it was certainly a fantastic tale; one worthy of being a book in itself.

"I fear that what you speak of, is far beyond my realm of knowledge," he replied. Despite the lot of them being ponies, he could still pick up on the glum state the were in at his words. "However, that isn't to say that such knowledge does not exist in this world. There is a wizard in my order, head of the White Council, by the name of Saruman. He is the eldest, and wisest of us all. If such magic exists, he is likely to possess it," he explained.

"Then... then there's still hope that we can return home, without having to wait to be rescued," Twilight stated, her wings fluttering in excitement. Or at least they would have if the pain in her right wing didn't flare up anew, causing her to wince at even the slight movement. That pinched nerve apparently hadn't cleared up with the passage of time. She'd have to ask Rainbow Dash what she did when this came up with her.

"There's always hope, young one," Gandalf replied, "but if you would excuse an old man, I've been traveling for a fair while, and I still have a fair bit of journey ahead of me. I'm on my way to visit an old friend of mine, for it's his birthday today. Much as I'm willing to help you however I can, it will simply have to wait. There are a great deal of festivities to be had on this day. You're all quite welcome to join if you'd like," he offered.

"Festivities? Ooh, a party!" Pinkie yelled excitedly, before turning to Twilight with a speed unmatched by anything short of teleportation. "Can we go too, Twilight? Huh? Can we? Pretty please!?" she pleaded.

Twilight wasn't sure how to respond to the sudden request. Looking at the rest of her friends, she really didn't see much certainty with them either. One way or another, they were going to need to wait for outside assistance to come to their aid. Even if she still possessed residual magic from holding all of the alicorn magic in Equestria, she still couldn't tear open the dimensional doorways that lead back home. That was one thing that, sadly, Starswirl the Bearded had neglected to note.

"I don't see the harm that would come from it. I'll just make sure to leave a note for Princess Celestia, telling her where we'll be headed. That way if she finds us before Gandalf can inquire about any spells relating to dimensional travel, she'll know where she can find us," she explained.

"The party's gonna need more cake..." Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath.

Twilight shot an annoyed glare at Rainbow Dash over that remark. But she decided to let it go for now. There were more important things to worry about.

"It looks like we'll be accepting that offer after all," she replied as she turned back to face Gandalf.

"Wonderful," Gandalf replied, before waving his hand to extinguish the lanterns on the cart. "Perhaps on the way there, you could tell me more of this "Equestria" from where you hail from? It would help pass the time of the journey."
> Bilbo's Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Bilbo's Party


With Twilight's message to her mentor burned into the ground, with directions to the Shire, thus ensuring that they would be found one way or another, the whole group began the rest of the journey toward their destination. And on that journey, Twilight spoke, and Gandalf listened. He listened as the pony spun an incredible tale of her home world of Equestria, the residents, the varying species, the Princesses, and at the insistence of her friends -although she spoke hesitantly- even her own ascension to royal status herself, and her evolution from Unicorn to Alicorn.

All in all, Gandalf couldn't help but note that the depths of her tale, and her focus on details, could easily fill a novel all its own. Or perhaps even several, with how specific she insisted on being.

She had even gone beyond mere tales of Equestria. She had impressed upon him, ideas and concepts that dwarfed his own imagination. His own inquiry about the matter of her injured wing, had proven sufficient to drive her to speak of concepts that weren't magic, but rather science! Science beyond anything that Man could hope of understanding at present. And she spoke of them so casually, like everyday things that held no wonder whatsoever. It was enough to make him idly consider asking this Princess Celestia if visiting Equestria himself would be a possibility, just to glimpse at the wonders that it held.

As the last of the night withdrew, and gave way to the dawn, and then to the morning, a small matter arose that was in need of being addressed; breakfast. For himself, that wasn't a problem. But he didn't have nearly enough food for everyone; that much was evident even before he heard each of their stomachs growling in turn. He wasn't even certain that they would be able to eat the same food that he would be eating on his journey.

Good fortune, however, smiled down upon their little gathering, in the form of a farmer along the way to the Shire, after a slight detour was made. It was simple enough to barter a small measure of his harvest that wouldn't be missed come winter, in exchange for one of the lanterns to his cart; a small price to pay, all things considered. And by how voracious their appetites appeared to be, it was well appreciated.

That wasn't to say their journey had been entirely smooth, however. The farmer had been quite willing to barter, but the farmer's children had other ideas in mind. Ideas that involved poking and prodding at Twilight in amazement of what she was; something that had caused them to unintentionally cause her injured wings more pain. In light of such, she now rode on the cart's seat next to him, far out of the reach of any children they might come across.

Not that he minded the company. It made it easier to hear one another as they conversed. Which suited him just fine, as there was still much to hear.

"So Fluttershy defeated this Discord character, simply by showing him what it was like to experience kindness?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Twilight replied and nodded, "we were ready to turn him back into stone for what he was doing, but Fluttershy refused, because she promised him she wouldn't. And in the end, he feared losing that friendship he had with her, far more than being petrified."

"Loneliness is a terrible thing to experience for so long," Gandalf mentioned. "Then she managed to reform the embodiment of chaos by herself? As if she were domesticating a pet?" he asked.

"Well that's sorta accurate," Rainbow Dash commented as she flew up ahead to hover alongside them. "He's still a huge pain in the flank at times, reformed or not. His practical jokes aren't even funny," she complained.

Twilight just shook her head in response. "She still hasn't forgiven Discord for the time he turned her fur bright pink," she explained.

"Well now... that's a horse of a different color," Gandalf mused, unable to resist.

Rainbow Dash merely snorted in annoyance -especially when Twilight started laughing at Gandalf's quip- before falling back to join the others as they followed the cart.

For a while the journey continued in silence, apart from the chatter of the others who were walking along behind the cart, but it was too hard to make out what they were saying.

Eventually, the cart slowed to a complete stop, and Gandalf dismounted.

"Are we there yet?" Twilight asked.

"Momentarily. I need to drop off a few things, and meet with a few friends who may be able to help," Gandalf explained as he made his way around to the back of the cart in order to extract a box, and tuck it under his arm. "Going in the front way is bound to draw an audience, and make things rather difficult for us; it's not everyday one sees six colored ponies and a baby dragon strolling through town," he explained.

There were two purposes to the little detour that would take them around the long way. The first was to meet with Bilbo, and inform him about what had developed on the way out here. With all of his experience, and the weight he pulled in the Shire, his assistance could prove invaluable.

The second was to deal with a certain Brandybuck and a Took. Those two were always up to no good. It was his sincere hope, that if he dropped off a little something for them to occupy themselves with, they would avoid turning tonight's party into a disaster.

In short, he was going to bribe those two mischievous hobbits with some of the smaller fireworks he had brought, in hopes that they would leave the larger ones alone.

"So... I guess we just... wait here?" Spike asked as he stepped to the front and observed Gandalf walking away.

"I'm guessing so," Twilight replied as she climbed down from the seat of the cart, setting back down on all four of her hooves again. As far as she was concerned, that was just fine. She'd been sitting in one spot on a hard wooden bench for so long, her butt had just about gone to sleep on her. The opportunity to stretch her legs for a while was just fine.

She had wanted to inspect some of the local flora and fauna, and compare it to that found back in Equestria while she waited. But that intention was quickly stopped when she noticed Rainbow Dash flying in the same direction Gandalf had gone.

"Rainbow Dash!" she objected and gripped the pegasus by the tail with her magic, bringing about a squawk of protest. "We're supposed to wait by the cart until Gandalf gets back!"

"Did you actually hear him say that?" Rainbow Dash asked as she turned to look at her.

"Well... no, but-"

"Then we don't need to wait around. If you wanna wait around for him to get back, go right ahead. But I'm gonna go explore," Rainbow Dash stated. Unfortunately it didn't turn out like that, and the grip on her tail remained. "What the hay?"

"Rainbow Dash, we still don't have any clue as to what dangers this "Middle Earth" might pose to us. Wandering off could prove quite dangerous. We're going to wait until Gandalf gets back before we just go venturing off on our own," Twilight stated firmly. She then thought on it, and knew that Rainbow Dash was likely going to fight her on the matter, until the two were yelling in each other's faces. That simply wouldn't do. "And if you insist on being stubborn about this, I'm going to-"

"Do what?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.

"I'll... I'll..." she paused, regretting that she didn't think this through better. "I'll sit on you!"

The audacity of the threat was enough to make Rainbow Dash burst into laughs. Twilight was actually threatening to sit on her? Like she was some sort of pillow or something?

"If ya can't hold 'er down on yer own, Sugarcube, Ah'll sub for ya," Applejack stated.

What none of them knew at the time, however, was that while all the attention was focused on the bickering between Twilight and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Spike were surreptitiously sneaking away from the group, intent on getting a sneak peak at just what this reported party would have to offer.



Gandalf walked up outside the gate to Bag End... a particularly fine example of a Hobbit hole, with a large round front door set into a grassy hillside. There is a sign on the gate that read "NO ADMITTANCE EXCEPT ON PARTY BUSINESS." Gandalf strode up to the garden path of Bag End regardless, raised his staff, and rapped on the front door.

"No, thank you! We don't want any more visitors, well wishers, or distant relations!" a voice from behind the door called out.

"And what about very old friends?"

Suddenly the door opens and the Hobbit known best as Bilbo Baggins stood before him.

"Gandalf?"

"Bilbo Baggins!"

"My dear Gandalf!" Gandalf dropped to his knee to embrace his old friend.

"It's good to see you. One hundred and eleven years old, who would believe it!" Gandalf looked at him more keenly. "You haven't aged a day!"

Gandalf and Bilbo both shared a laugh together before entering Bag End.

"Come on, come in! Welcome, welcome!!"

Bilbo lead Gandalf into Bag End... cozy and cluttered with souvenirs of his travels. Gandalf had to stoop to avoid hitting his head on the low ceiling, but that was a risk taken when entering the home of a Hobbit. Bilbo hung up Gandalf's hat on a peg, before trotting off down the hall.

"Tea? Or maybe something stronger... I've a few bottles of the Old Winyard left, 1296... a very good year, almost as old as I am. It was laid down by my father. What say we open one, eh?"

Bilbo disappeared into the kitchen as Gandalf looked around, enjoying the familiarity of Bag End... before he turned, knocking his head on the light. He was quick to straighten it before it could break... and then promptly walked into the wooden beam next to it with an audible thud, groaning in pain. That was going to leave a mark...

"I was expecting you some time last week. Not that it matters, you come and go as you please, always have done, always will. You've caught me a bit unprepared, I'm afraid... we've only got cold chicken, bit of pickle, some cheese here... ooh, no, that might be a little risky..."

Gandalf stopped in front of a framed map, charred in one corner... it was Thorin's map of the Lonely Mountain, bringing a small smile in remembrance.

"Er, we've got raspberry jam and apple tart... got some custard somewhere. Not much for Afters, I'm afraid. Oh no... we're alright... I've just found some sponge cake. Nice little snack. Hope it's enough," Bilbo said as he came out of the kitchen. "I could do you some eggs if you like?"

Bilbo jumped, a half eaten pork pie in his hand, as Gandalf appeared behind him without warning.

"Just tea, thank you."

"Oh... right. You don't mind if...?"

"No, not at all. Go ahead," Gandalf replied.

And then there was a sudden loud knock on the front door.

"Bilbo Baggins, you open this door..I know you're in there!"

"I'm not home," Bilbo stated as he dropped behind the table. That voice belonged to Mrs. Sackville Baggins. But as far as he was concerned, it could've belonged to anyone.

Gandalf watched silently, amused as Bilbo tried to hide.

"I've got to get away from these confounded relatives, hanging on the bell all day, never giving me a moment's peace. I want to see mountains again... mountains, Gandalf...  and then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book... Oh, Tea!"

"So, you mean to go through with your plan, then?" Gandalf asked as Bilbo righted himself again.

"Yes, yes... it's all in hand.   All the arrangements are made."

"Frodo suspects something," Gandalf said after a pause.

"'Course he does, he's a Baggins...not some block headed Bracegirdle from Hardbottle!"

"You will tell him, won't you?" Gandalf asked.

"Yes, yes."

"He's very fond of you..."

"I know. He'd probably come with me if I asked him. I think, in his heart, Frodo's still in love with the Shire, the woods and the fields... little rivers."

Bilbo stood gazing out of the kitchen window. "I am old, Gandalf..." Bilbo looked at Gandalf sadly. "I know I don't look it, but I'm beginning to feel it in my heart." Bilbo's fingers closed around his waistcoat pocket... gripping a small, unseen object. "I feel thin... sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread. I need a holiday...a very long holiday and I don't expect I shall return... in fact, I mean not to."

"Tell me something, old friend, could I talk you into taking part in one more adventure with me, before you take that long holiday of yours?" Gandalf asked.

"Another adventure?" Bilbo asked incredulously as he slipped his hand out of his pocket. "The Shire still hasn't recovered from the last time I got mixed up with the likes of you! I'd have to be insane to consent to getting involved with anything you bring up once more!" he protested.

And then a pause.

"When can we leave?" he asked.

Gandalf couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"I'm afraid it's not that sort of an adventure, old friend," he replied as he set his hand on Bilbo's shoulder. "Or at least, not yet anyway. On the way to the Shire, I met seven weary travelers, from a land far away; far beyond the boundaries of Middle Earth. The means that brought them here, are far greater than my own understanding of the subject. To research it, I'd have to go all the way to Isengard, and seek Saruman's council. As you might understand, I can't do that right now. And I fear that when the opportunity presents itself, they'll be subjected to a great deal of unwanted attention. I was hoping that you might be able to steer certain residents of the Shire away from them during their stay here."

Bilbo knew exactly the type of Shire members Gandalf was talking about. He'd been with them for over sixty years, he had a good understanding of the type of character that was being politely addressed as more trouble than they were worth. Unfortunately that would mean exposing himself to meddling relatives that would insist on asking him questions.

But for Gandalf's sake, how could he really say no?

"I think I can handle that. Yes," he replied.

"Much appreciated, old friend," Gandalf replied as he smiled warmly. "I'll bring them by, and let them know that they'll be in good hands while I'm gone."



Spike looked at the partygoers with what could only be described as complete bemusement. All he could see were human children. Granted, there were many children, but they were still only children. It was a saddening thought; the likelihood of there being any good apple cider at a children's party was quite slim. That news was bound to upset Rainbow Dash when she found out.

Pinkie though, was confused on why there were so many children in the party. Where are the adults? And for that matter, why weren't they doing the work instead? Not that it mattered too much; a party was still a party no matter what the age group is. If she was going to partake in a children's party, then she would do so gladly.

Still, that didn't change the fact that the whole thing struck her as being irresponsible. Why weren't the adults doing the hard stuff, like setting up the tents themselves?

Then they heard the sounds of hoof steps approach from behind.

"Decided to join us then, eh? It's a large party, but not like the festivities in Ponyville though," Spike stated.

Twilight frowned at Spike's attitude towards everything. She had come to find him and Pinkie, and give them quite the lecture about running off when her back was turned. Sighing, she looked at the preparations being carried out, figuring out what she was going to say to them. Although those thoughts were disrupted by what she saw.

"Are they all children?" she asked with clear surprise as she watched the scene, her irritation with their disappearance temporarily forgotten. They could not see much behind the tents, but they could make out quite a few small shapes running back and forth, sitting, eating, and drinking with one another, in between setting things up.

"Looks so to me," Spike commented.

Twilight glanced at Spike and Pinkie, and then back again at the party. "I'll go on ahead and ask around; I think they'll be less threatened by me. You two wait here while I see where all the adults are. And this time I mean it; stay here," she instructed.

"And see if they have their own party," Spike added with a smirk. Twilight didn't reply, but rather left the bushes that they hid behind, and went to the nearest child she could find.

"Excuse me," she said, and when the child turned, she held back a gasp of surprise. The child actually looked as old as her father did! Even factoring in the differences in facial features between humans and ponies, she could tell that she was talking to someone of an advanced age.

"Yes, what do you want?" He asked, glancing at her with suspicion, thinking that he had too much ale to drink. "I am about to get some cake, so do be quick!"

"Oh, I- I am sorry, I- my apologies."

The child-sized man shook his head as he walked away, muttering, "I need to take a break from the ale, I'm starting to hallucinate about talking purple ponies with wings and a horn."

She turned to make her way back to her friends, but as she did she nearly bumped into two of the small people who were carrying a large firecracker in the shape of a red dragon. They dropped it in surprise and looked as if they were about to bolt, but stopped as they looked her over.

"Oh!" said one. "You are not Gandalf. Good."

Twilight shook her head as she looked at them. They were not old, but they did not look to be children, either. Indeed, they both looked to be around her age as best she could tell.

And then she noticed what they had been carrying. That looked strangely familiar to her...

"Isn't that one of Gandalf's fireworks?" she asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

One of them hastily started trying to put the firework away and out of sight, while the other gave her a strange look. "You know Gandalf? Then you came with him?"

"Yes, we just came not too long ago- I beg your pardon, but what exactly are you?"

He laughed. "You don't know what I am! How very funny. I am a hobbit, mistress. Peregrin Took at your service- though my friends call me Pippin," he explained. "There here is my cousin, Meriadoc Brandybuck- everyone calls him Merry, though." Pippin frowned as he glanced her over. "If you came with Gandalf, then are you a friend of Bilbos'?"

"Well..." she began uncertainly, but then stopped as she saw Spike and Pinkie make their way from the bushes towards her. "What are you doing? Didn't I tell you to stay back?" she asked once they were with them.

"We saw you standing around and thought we would join the conversation. Bushes are sadly rather poor conversationalists," Pinkie said with a bright smile. She glanced at Merry and Pippin, frowning. "You aren't children."

"No," said Merry with a sigh, "We're hobbits. You are in the Shire, our homeland; you really should know that if you're traveling through here."

"We came here quite unexpectedly," Spike put in, looking down at the hobbits' feet with bemusement. He looked back to their faces before they noticed. "It's a rather odd story."

"It is," Twilight agreed, recalling the events that brought them here.

"Perhaps you should tell Gandalf," Pippin said.

"Perhaps who should tell Gandalf?"

The group turned around and the three equestrians kept their surprise in check as Gandalf came into view. He glanced at the dragon firework, and then to the two hobbits, and finally to the two ponies and baby dragon.

"We'll be going now," Merry said, dragging Pippin along with him. They quickly hurried off, leaving the four alone.

Gandalf watched as the hobbit duo left his sight with a deep sigh. "And still they go for the large ones..." Gandalf muttered to himself before turning to Twilight, Spike, and Pinkie.

"I have good news for you girls, my friend and the host of the party, Bilbo Baggins, has agreed to have you stay with him, and his nephew Frodo. The hobbits are celebrating Bilbo's birthday this evening. I already told Bilbo about your situation, and I plan on telling the situation to Frodo as well, but I suggest that you keep the story of your world to yourselves. The local hobbits will already be in for quite a shock when they see six talking ponies, and a baby dragon; there is no need to spread the story on how you all came to be here. So come, join the party and enjoy yourselves."

With that, the wizard turned and went back to the festivities.

Spike smiled at the old wizard's back. "I like him."

"It's kind enough of him to trust us as much as he does," Twilight agreed. "We're the strangers here. And anyone who can orchestrate and throw a party as great as this, would be nice to stay with for a while." She turned to look at Spike and Pinkie. "We should stay here and wait for the others to arrive."

"As it is," Spike put in, "I'm famished. I'm going to take Gandalf's advice and enjoy myself. You can stay here if you really want, Twilight." With that, he and Pinkie headed over to the party.

Twilight shook her head with a smile. "Trouble makers."

"What, those two? Yea, they're awful."

Twilight turned around, and frowned when she saw Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash coming out of a nearby bush towards her. Apparently nopony was in the mood to follow orders today. "I thought I told you to stay with the cart!"

"Ya did," Applejack agreed and nodded. "But we got ta thinkin' on it, an' we realized that nopony could take it even if they wanted ta. Even if they tried, Fluttershy finally got ta talkin' wit' the stallion pullin', the cart, an' he says he ain't goin' nowhere without Gandalf. Besides, you three were takin' too long, so we decided to see what was happenin' in case ya got in trouble."

"I see..." Twilight said as she stared at her friends evenly. "It can't be helped I suppose. Gandalf said we now have a place to stay, with the host of this party, named Bilbo Baggins."

"Yeah, we already heard your conversation with Gandalf. And I specifically heard that we can enjoy ourselves in this party. So I'll see if I can't have some fun with Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said as she trotted to the party in search of the pink mare.

"I think Applejack and I will go get some food, We haven't had anything to eat since breakfast, and I'm positively famished," Rarity stated. With that, and a "later, Sugarcube" from Applejack, the two were off as well.

Twilight just sighed as she watched all but Fluttershy leave for the party. "Looks like it's just you and me Fluttershy, let's go meet up with Spike."

"Okay, I guess..." Fluttershy replied. She wasn't a big fan of parties, or other social events that have huge crowds. Or even small crowds for that matter. But she also wasn't a big fan of being alone in an unfamiliar place either. If asked to pick between the two on which she didn't like the most, being alone was definitely going to be it; it was just too scary for her.

After Twilight and Fluttershy managed to find and join Spike at the sizable refreshment table, it became apparent that they were subject to many puzzled glances from the assembled party goers, but for the most part they were not questioned by them. For this they were thankful, and soon enough they found the first two hobbits they had stumbled upon, Merry and Pippin, coming back over to them.

"Oh, hullo again!" said Pippin with a grin. "Did Gandalf help you?"

"Yes, he did very much," Fluttershy said quietly while giving the hobbits a small smile. The fact that they weren't all that large, and the friendly smiles that they offered her, helped her feel a bit more at ease around them.

"Tell me," Twilight started, "what's Gandalf doing here when all the rest of the guests are... hobbits?"

"He's Bilbo's friend," Merry explained. "And he made great fireworks for the party."

"He made them?" Spike asked. He knew that, as a wizard, Gandalf could use magic. But this was the first time he'd ever heard of magic being used to actually construct fireworks. If he'd been asked, he would've assumed the old wizard had simply bought them from... wherever. "That's... actually pretty cool."

"Yes; he is a wizard, and wizards can do those sorts of things, you know." Pippin looked at the two ponies and baby dragon with a frown. "Everyone knows that he is a wizard. Where in the world are you from?"

"Far... far away," Spike shrugged, remembering Gandalf's advice. Although he was tempted to state how Gandalf's magic was probably nothing compared to Twilight's.

"I guess so," Merry said, looking at them suspiciously.

They were saved from further conversation when Twilight grabbed Spike's shoulder and pointed to their left. "Applejack and Rarity are here!"

"What are they doing here?"

"Likely got bored."



The two mentioned ponies were indeed on the outskirts of the party, looking at the little people with awe. They, like the others, had quickly caught on to the fact that the hobbits weren't actually children, but weren't quite sure where to go; from their current vantage point they couldn't really see the rest of their friends among all the partygoers.

"I do hope we're not lost," Rarity commented.

"Oh! You two must be Twilight Sparkle and Spike- Gandalf just told me about you."

Startled, the two turned around and saw the person speaking to them was the same height as everyone else, but he looked a fair bit older than them. At least he seemed to be a very cheerful individual, with an overall good nature about him.

"Err, no," said Rarity with an awkward smile. "But we're with them- by any chance would you happen to know where they might be, sir?"

"Applejack! Rarity!" The small group turned to find Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy making their way over.

"Oh! Gandalf told me that there were seven of you." The small old hobbit looked puzzled at this.

"I'm sorry; Rainbow Dash and Pinkie are around here somewhere," Twilight explained. "There are just the five of us for now. By any chance are you Bilbo?"

"Oh, goodness, yes! Bilbo Baggins of Bag End." He gave the ponies and baby dragon a short bow. "And there is quite enough room in Bag End for your group- Gandalf explained the situation to me, and after what I've seen in my days, I am little surprised that now we have talking ponies and baby dragons from far away lands dropping into Middle Earth!" He chuckled. "Now, I hope you all are enjoying yourselves- eat and drink as much as you want, there is plenty for all, and I know you ponies don't even eat that much as it is!" Chuckling once more, he bowed again, "I am frightfully sorry, but I do need to go and make some preparations for a speech I'm giving later tonight. Until another time!" With that, Bilbo scurried off.

Applejack watched him wide-eyed as he left. "What are these people?"

"They call themselves hobbits," Spike said with a shrug.

"I've never heard of a hobbit before."

"Neither have I," Rarity said with a light frown. "But they seem rather friendly, and the food looks good. But where's Pinkie and Rainbow Dash run off to?"

"I wouldn't worry about them," Twilight said. "I'm going to take up Bilbo's suggestion and eat, and leave Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to their own doings."

Spike nodded and the two left to find a place to sit and eat. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy, not too worried about Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie for the moment, followed them.



Rainbow Dash sat at a table in front of a stage, resting her aching hooves. She and Pinkie had managed to have a lot of fun, and get a lot of good food; these hobbits really knew how to be friendly. But after all the walking around that had been done, she just needed to relax for a little bit.

And then along came a hobbit girl who sat down beside her. Not that she minded.

She looked over and watched as Pinkie currently entertained the crowd with her usual energetic way, which they all seemed to find pretty amusing.

This hobbit girl, likely one of those adventurous Tooks or Brandybucks that they'd met, had apparently thought a pony with wings was absolutely fascinating, and had proceeded to ask her all manner of questions, about her mane, her wings, her cutie mark, and a mess of other subjects. Rainbow Dash had warmed up to her immediately, regarding her as having a good character. And when she brought a tankard of ale for her to drink, she liked her even more.

"So you are Bilbo's friend?" the hobbit girl asked her as she took a swig. The ale had a warm, alcoholic burn to it, but it wasn't enough to overcome the fact that it tasted good; almost as good as Applejack's cider.

"Of course! We've been pals for many years!" Rainbow Dash stated without even thinking about her words. "And you?"

"Oh, I'm just his third cousin on his mother's side; twice removed, of course."

Rainbow Dash blinked at that. "What?"

"Oh, you like family history!" With that, she started a long tale of how they were related, naming every quirk of said relation and of course boasting about all of their accomplishments. Throughout the tale, Rainbow Dash drank and tried to concentrate on her story, all the while noting how the girl was almost as bad as Twilight when it came to lecturing.

Before she completely lost her concentration, an older hobbit suddenly came up on stage as Pinkie politely left to join Rainbow Dash, and the hobbit girl stopped her spiel as the crowd started cheering for him.

Through the cheers ringing out, Rainbow Dash was quickly able to make out that the old hobbit was Bilbo, one of the guests of honor.

"Speech, speech!" a few called out, and Bilbo complied.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes through the pleasantries, but hid her surprise- though not her amusement- at the less-than-pleasant words from the speaker. At the end of the speech she was actually paying attention; it sounded interesting.

"I regret to announce that this is the end. I am going now. I bid you all a fond farewell. Good bye."

And with that, Bilbo disappeared.

As all of the hobbits (including the hobbit girl by her side) went through various stages of amazement and even horror, Rainbow Dash simply chuckled.

"Good bye!" Pinkie said with a short wave.

Quickly becoming annoyed with the panicked scene that was hardly developing into anything entertaining, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie went to find the rest of their friends, and hope that they could make sense of this.

She knew they were around here somewhere. They'd met up earlier at some point in the evening, but hadn't exactly stayed together for long. She and Applejack had held an impromptu competition, seeing who was better at bucking interesting hobbits off of their backs the fastest. She forgot who won that one.

Then there had been Twilight, and the aftermath of her trying a little sample of the local ale. The Alicorn was a lightweight when it came to alcohol, and had proceeded to sloppily dance with any hobbit that had given her the time of day, before finally collapsing on the ground. That had got them all laughing.

And then had came the whole debacle with the dragon firework thanks to those two chuckle heads, Merry and Pippin. If Gandalf hadn't caught them by the ears first, she would've done something far worse than simply put them on dish washing duty. That much was for certain. She would've dragged them right through the sky, and given them a wild ride to scare some of the stupid right out of them.

"The guy's pretty good at making speeches; great with the subtle insults, although he could've made it longer," she commented as she trotted up to the others after finding them, noting that Twilight seemed recovered from her brief inebriation.

"Did you see what he did?" Applejack said with wide eyes. "He just disappeared out of thin air!"

"Like I said, it was pretty good. That was an awesome closer," Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Maybe Gandalf made him disappear," Twilight put in. "Gandalf is a wizard after all."

Applejack shook her head. "Where is Gandalf, anyways?" The group looked around, but saw no signs of him. "Oh, good, the wizard disappears just like that- what do they call themselves?"

"Hobbits."

"Well, if Gandalf disappeared just like that Bilbo-"

"Gandalf didn't disappear." Pippin, who was nearby and overheard the last part of their conversation, joined them. He glanced at Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity curiously before turning to Twilight, Spike, and Fluttershy, whom he had taken an exceptional liking to. "I saw Gandalf go up to Bag End."

"Bag End?" Twilight asked.

"Bilbo and Frodo live there." He pointed up to a home inside a hill just above the party.

"Oh right, that Bag End. Thank you," Twilight stated quickly, before galloping off in the indicated direction, the others following along.

When they came up to Bag End, they stood at the front of the house, the door was standing wide open and Gandalf stood there, back to them as he looked at the floor of the front hall.

"Wha's Gandalf doing?" Applejack muttered. "If y'all don' mind none, Ah'll stay here. There's somehin' goin' on that Ah'm not likin'..."

"First wise words I've ever heard from you since we got here," Rainbow Dash said. Applejack frowned, not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"Hush," Twilight stated, "I agree with Applejack, something isn't right here. I've been feeling it ever since we entered this town. Sort of... like a tickle in the back of my mind. But it's been increasing ever since we met Bilbo; almost like it was coming from him. It's... I know it sounds crazy, because it sounds crazy to me, but it's almost like when I was back in the Crystal Empire, in the presence of Sombra's dark magic," she explained.

"Oh my," Fluttershy stated anxiously in terror.

"The weird thing is, I know what dark magic feels like, but I can't sense it anywhere. Maybe... maybe I'm just overreacting. Maybe the magic of Middle Earth is out of sync with Equestrian magic, and the headache I got from that ale is just skewing my perspective of everything," Twilight added, hoping to avoid a panic.

"Well whatever it is, darling, I'm going to go and have a word or two with Gandalf. I want to know what happened to Bilbo," Rarity stated, before marching past the gate, and down the path that led to the house, leaving her friends at the gate.

As she approached the wizard to inquire about their host, Rarity saw that he was not looking at the floor exactly, but rather a golden ring that rested right by the doorway. Granted it was a lovely looking ring, but was it really as interesting as all that. She soon came to stand beside him, and found that, yes, the ring truly was that interesting. It was even lovelier up close than it was far away.

She honestly couldn't put her hoof on it, as to what made a simple gold ring so utterly enrapturing, and yet she couldn't pull her gaze away from it either. It just grew all the more beautiful the longer she looked at it.

"That is a beautiful ring," she said quietly.

Suddenly a strong urge to pick it up, and look at it closer, washed over her like a tidal wave. She felt compelled in her desire to try it on, and see how it looked to wear on her horn. Even if it would only fit about halfway down, she didn't care about such a fact. It was beautiful enough to overcome any such limitation, she was certain of that.

Gandalf turned swiftly to look at her, seeming a little surprised by her presence, as if he had not heard her approach. He quickly covered his reaction and gazed down into her eyes before addressing her.

"Yes, it is, but do not touch it; it is not yours and never will be," he said gruffly as if he had read what was on her mind, with all the ease of reading an open book. The wizard shut the door firmly, and stood outside with Rarity. "As I said before, it would be best if you and your friends stayed here in Bag End for the time being and kept your story to yourselves. Bilbo should return shortly, but Frodo is still here and knows your tale."

She nodded in understanding, but then frowned. "Why did you tell me not to touch that ring? Is there something wrong with it?"

He exhaled slowly. "Miss Rarity, that ring will bring you nothing but trouble. You may want to consider that well."

With that, he turned and left her there standing alone, more confused than she was before.
> At Bag End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


At Bag End


Later that evening the group finally met Frodo for the first time, some of them recognizing him as being one of the hobbits that Twilight had "danced" with. He was much younger than his uncle, and did not seem to be as outgoing as the other; indeed, it seemed as if his mind was somewhere else throughout most of the official introduction.

And indeed it was. For what he did not tell the group was that, alongside his worries about Bilbo, Gandalf had met him before he made his way to Bag End. The wizard had told him briefly about the ring that lay in what was now his front hall, and his last words, "Keep it secret; keep it safe," did not help calm his mind in any way whatsoever.

The hobbit, however, accepted the seven strangers with few questions, and easily found room for all of them. While he found all of them rather odd, especially after everything that had happened at the party, he knew from his uncle's many relations, that every culture had their own sets of manners and customs and so said little about it, out of an effort to be polite.

As Gandalf suggested, the group from Equestria stayed inside Bag End most of the time, and when they went outside, they tended not go beyond its sight. Rarity was the one most frequently outdoors, tasked with keeping an eye out for Gandalf's return, since she supposedly had the sharpest eyes of the group due to her fashion skills. She remained where she was, and what the hobbits of Hobbiton and Bywater thought about the six ponies and baby dragon never came to Bag End.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack often found themselves rather restless within the hobbit home. While it was well furnished for comfort, the three of them were ponies of action and the simple home life suited them very little. Even Applejack felt the growing restlessness getting to her.

In the end, after Applejack had subtly searched the place and found little of interest, and Rainbow Dash finally found even sleeping tiresome, the two bored athletes eventually reached the point of settling on a game of chess to try and entertain themselves with. Along with a few improvised games that they'd managed to cook up. They would speak with the hobbits here and there when they might come by, but the hobbits usually left the two ponies to themselves, likely unable to understand Rainbow Dash's odd demeanor and Applejacks' complete apathy towards said demeanor.

Pinkie Pie would be planning the next big party, or even small party, and occupy herself bouncing in circles around Bag End to release some of her boundless energy, when there were no hobbits to speak with at length about anything that caught her interest.

Fluttershy was becoming quick friends with Merry, Pippin, and a hobbit by the name of Samwise Gamgee. When the three learned that she had poor cooking skills, especially with complex dishes, they immediately went out of their way to teach her all they knew. Sam especially was proud of his skills, and was glad to show off many of his cooking tricks to a willing student of the culinary arts.

Fluttershy was ready to set the three on Rarity, who, being a mare of class, possibly knew less than her, but found herself enjoying their company, and wanted to keep them for herself. She even gave some consideration to asking Twilight if she could perhaps take the three home with her. While cooking with the hobbits turned out to be entertaining, one of her other activities in Bag End was helping Bilbo and Frodo keep out very curious hobbits, all who wanted to know how Bilbo had disappeared, and whom these strange ponies were.

One couple, named Sackville-Bagginses, took the persuasion of "The Stare" from Fluttershy to leave Bag End when they got too persistent for the others to deter. Bilbo and Frodo were torn between gladness and anger by the action, but soon let go of their anger, seeing as they could hardly stand the Sackville-Bagginses themselves.

Twilight and Spike often spent their time talking with one another in peace- peace they had not known for a long time. When they were not spending quality time with one another they frequently looked through maps and books. It was about the only thing she could do right now, that helped distract her from that lingering sensation that somewhere close by, there was dark magic at work.

It was also through this activity that they discovered what they already feared: they really were not on Equestria anymore.



"These maps," said Twilight one evening to Frodo, "they are completely accurate?"

"Oh yes," Frodo said. "Bilbo used the most accurate information. Of course every map will have its error, but these are the best in the Shire if you want to know about the world Outside."

"Impossible..." muttered Spike as he glanced through several different maps. "There is no sign of Ponyville, Canterlot, and these certainly cannot be of the Griffon Kingdom. So much for the hope that this was just some undiscovered location on Equestria."

Twilight held up one map that looked to be that of the whole continent. "What does it say?" she asked, pointing to the strange characters on it. Despite her learning session with Gandalf on their first meeting, she'd been focused far more on spoken language, rather than the written language, as it seemed more prudent.

"Map of Middle-earth," Frodo translated, "along with a couple other details."

"Middle-earth," Spike muttered, remembering the words Gandalf had told them. "Well, at least we know where this Middle-earth is." Frodo looked at him curiously, but when neither of them clarified, he held his peace.

When Twilight and Spike told their findings to the rest of the group, their reactions were mixed.

"I've heard crazier things," Rainbow Dash said nonchalantly as she moved a pawn forward. "Almost as crazy as me being the Element of Loyalty, really."

"We suspected that from the beginning though," Applejack muttered as she studied the chessboard. Despite Rainbow Dash not being on par with Twilight in intelligence, that didn't make her stupid. "Ya think Gandalf will be able ta find a way ta send us back home like he said?"

"I don't know Applejack," Twilight answered. "All we can do is wait for him to come back."

"Well I hope he does know a way for us to get back to our world," Rarity said. "As nice as these hobbits are, I'd still much rather be back home."

Applejack nodded in agreement as she moved her knight.

"I miss Cloudsdale," Rainbow Dash said simply as she moved her own knight in retaliation. "Bunch of heathens down here, living so far from the wonderful sky."

Twilight had no idea where Rainbow Dash had learned that word, although she knew that she was using it incorrectly. She'd have to speak to her about language and grammar later on. For right now, she had something else to speak on.

"So when did you take to chess anyway?" she asked curiously. She had to fight hoof and nail to get Rainbow Dash to even consider reading, so it was definitely something else to see her playing a game that involved so much patience, and strategy.

"Not much else to do 'round here, and I have no plans on leaving you girls out of my reach." Rainbow Dash knocked over a pawn with her knight, and frowned when Applejack took out said knight with her bishop. "You girls mind going outside for a while or something. I'm in no mood to get my flank kicked up and down the Shire by this apple farmer while you're chatting in the background..."

Not in the mood to argue with Rainbow Dash about being rude, and knowing it would be fruitless anyway, she simply trotted her way to the outside of Bag End, with Spike, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie following behind. Rarity glanced at the board one last time, whispered something to Applejack, and quickly left.

"What did she say?" Rainbow Dash asked when she was gone.

"Nothing of importance," Applejack said with a shrug, moving her pawn forward. After a couple more turns, Rainbow Dash lost her queen.

"Nothing of importance, huh?" she said with a raised brow of disbelief. "Curse you Rarity." Applejack only chuckled in reply.

"No importance ta ya perhaps."



It was mid-afternoon by the time the others were finally allowed back inside the home. And once inside Bag End, five hobbits, six ponies, and a baby dragon were gathered around a large map of Middle-earth. The group from Equestria asked about various places on the map, while Frodo and Bilbo answered all of their questions as best they could, and Merry, Pippin, and Sam listened nearby.

"So let me get this straight," Rainbow Dash started with a frown as she looked to the southeast corner of the map. "This 'Mordor' was ruled by some evil jerk who tried to take over the world some thousands years ago?"

Frodo was too polite to comment upon her unique choice of words. "Yes, and is ruled still by him, though he has not done much since. He was quite weakened in the battle with the Last Alliance, but he did not perish. I fear I don't know all of the details though."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Still ruling?"

"Yes; he is immortal, though how or why I could not say. Gandalf would be better suited for that type of question."

"Interesting," she muttered with an odd look on her face. "Immortality is here, too." With that, she suddenly left the room, deep in thought.

"What was that about?" Sam asked with a frown.

"Don't mind her; she is always like that," Spike said with a wave of his claw. "I, personally, am really interested in this Rivendell. What in the world do you mean by 'elves'? Do they look like you?"

"Oh, no! I haven't seen elves before, myself, but Bilbo has a few times." Frodo nodded to Bilbo as he stood up from his chair.

"They are tall, much like Man, and very fair to look upon. It is difficult to describe their ethereal beauty; it's something you all would have to see for yourselves in order to understand," Bilbo explained as he sat back down, grunting from the protest of his joints.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. A very firm, yet very frantic sort of knock. They were surprised, for the curious visitors had stopped pestering them a while ago, and the only visitors that ever came were already at Bag End. Frodo quickly went to open the door. Inside came in a very weary Gandalf.

"Gandalf! Where have you been?" Frodo asked as he eagerly took the wizard's hat and cloak upon them being offered

"Many places," he replied as he entered the living room, "though on this journey, only to one. And one can only hope quickly enough." He glanced at the large group. "Ah, so you are all still here? Good. But for now I need all of you to step outside. I must speak with Frodo privately. Though where is Twilight Sparkle?"

Applejack stood up. "Ah'll go get her. She was thinking on something, though she may not like being bothered."

Gandalf shook his head. "Leave her where she is. I'd rather not bother her right now. Now out, if you all please, out!"

Pippin shrugged. "We were just about to leave anyways. We have an appointment with Farmer Maggot and his carrots tonight." Merry and Pippin grinned at one another and left. Sam sighed and shook his head at the two younger hobbits as he and Bilbo followed them. With one last glance at Frodo, the other six left and shut the door behind them.

Gandalf sighed as he sat down. "I hope they haven't been too much trouble, Frodo."

Frodo shook his head. "Their mannerisms are quite odd, but it may be because they are ponies. Then again, it may be because they are from another world. I can still scarcely believe it, even though I have seen them for myself. But tell me, Gandalf, where have you been?"

Gandalf smiled. "Good; I did not see any evil in them, and I am glad they caused you none. It seems my senses are not yet completely gone. Old age does terrible things to a man, you know."

"You know that I know you are more than merely some old man, Gandalf," Frodo said with a smile. "But come now! Where have you been?"

"This journey took me to Gondor, to the great city of Minas Tirith. There I found documents written long ago- it was one written by Isildur that interested me most."

"Isildur!" said Frodo. "He was the son of King Elendil, was he not?

"And more besides." Gandalf took a deep breath. "In these documents penned by him, Isildur wrote about a small trinket that was created by the Dark Lord, Sauron. The trinket itself was a simple golden ring, but this ring was much more than it appeared to be. The Dark Lord poured a great amount of his power, and being, into this ring, and through it he would control all other Great Rings, and their rulers, and so take over Middle-Earth. However, during the Last Alliance in the Second Age, Isildur cut this ring off his finger, and so severed Sauron from his main source of power, thus ending the many-year war and his darkness- for a time.

"Isildur should have destroyed this ring, and ended Sauron's existence right then and there, but the hearts of Men are easily corrupted. The evil that was supposed to be annihilated over three thousand years ago, is still very much alive, and gaining power very quickly. While the Dark Lord is still vulnerable, he has a great many resources and is building his strength. This ring of his- known as the One Ring- was lost long ago, when Isildur was ambushed while riding up North. I fear it has been found- and is now in your possession." He paused. "If Sauron regains this ring, the world will fall into ruin."

Frodo was silent for a long while as he absorbed this information. "How do you know that Bilbo's ring- my ring- is the Dark Lord's?"

"I can prove it to you. Bring it out."

Frodo nodded and went to a locked drawer. He drew out the key, took out the ring, and held it uncertainly. "Now what?"

"Throw it in the fire."

Frodo looked at him in surprise. "Are you mad? Why burn such a precious, beautiful thing!"

Gandalf frowned. "Already it grows precious to you. Do not worry, it will not melt."

Frodo, with some difficulty, threw it into the crackling fire. A minute later Gandalf took it out and dropped it in Frodo's hand. Frodo was surprised that it did not burn him; in fact, it was not heated at all. He looked at it and then looked to Gandalf. Gandalf smiled grimly.

"It was smooth but a minute ago; look again."

Frodo did so, and he saw that on the once smooth surface of the ring there was an Elvish script; he, however, could not read it. "What does it say?" he asked.

"One Ring to Rule them all, One Ring to Find them, One Ring to Bring them all, and in the Darkness Bind them." Gandalf sighed. "Now it is proven: this is truly the One Ring. And Sauron needs only this ring to cover all the lands in a second darkness, and he is seeking it. He must never find it."

Frodo nodded, quite fearfully. "Alright then; I will hide it, put it away, and we will never speak of it again. No one knows it's here, do they?" he asked. Gandalf did not respond. The hobbit turned to look at him. "No one knows it's here... do they, Gandalf?"

"There is another who knew Bilbo had the Ring; he once owned the Ring himself."

Frodo's eyes widened. "You do not mean Gollum?"

Gandalf nodded. "And even though my allies and I have searched for him, the Enemy found him first. I don't know how long they tortured him, but finally he gave them what information they needed. They know that the Ring is here, in the Shire, and that a Baggins is carrying it. They will come for it."

Frodo looked at the Ring. How could so fair a thing be so dangerous? "What must I do now?"



Frodo started packing up his things rapidly. He had to leave the Shire and everything in it behind: his dear friends, his beautiful home, and go all the way to Bree. He did not wish to leave, but it was his fate. Even Bilbo was leaving, finally putting his plans into action.

As he packed, the young hobbit suddenly realized something. "Gandalf, what about the others? Do you think they should be left here alone?"

Gandalf glanced at him; he had not thought about them, so deep was his concern for Frodo and the Ring. As he was about to respond to Frodo's inquiry, there was a sudden noise in the bushes below the large window in the room. Both Gandalf and Frodo turned to the window and after a moment heard a whisper.

"Get down!" Gandalf told Frodo urgently. He took his staff and slowly approached the window as the bushes stirred some more. The wizard hit the thing in the bushes with the end of his staff and it grunted. He threw his staff to the floor, leaned out of the window, and pulled the thing hiding in the bushes through the large window and onto the table. It was Fluttershy.

"Confound it all, Sam-" Gandalf started, but then saw it was not the hobbit. She had a couple of twigs in her mane and was looking up at him with wide eyes, clearly frightened. He let go of her and she slowly sat up, still watching him nervously.

"I would swear to the Valar that I heard Samwise!" Gandalf said, giving her a bushy stare. She just sat there, still speechless, when Rainbow Dash suddenly swung the door open, wings tensed as if about to charge him.

"Let her go," she demanded.

"There is no need for such a show, little one," the wizard said gruffly, clearly unimpressed with the act. Fluttershy got off the table and went over to her friend; only then did she relax her battle posture.

"Well how was I supposed to know what you were gonna do to her? You just grabbed her, what was I supposed to expect?" Rainbow Dash asked in her own defense.

"As I would with any eavesdropper," he said, watching as Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Sam ran into the house in a similar state as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "Many eavesdroppers!" The group said nothing, but Sam slightly backed himself behind Fluttershy as the wizard's temper grew.

"We want to help Frodo," Fluttershy said, suddenly, but without much force to her words.

"Wait, we do?" Rainbow Dash asked as she looked at Applejack.

Applejack simply nodded in response. New or not, these hobbits were still their friends, and in a time of need.

"It does not matter if you do or not; you will accompany him," Gandalf said unexpectedly. He raised an eyebrow at their surprise. "Why the surprise? Since you know of his situation, you must go with him. We cannot risk the Enemy coming to any of you, and gaining information, and they will be here at Bag End any day now, once they find out a Baggins lives here."

"That's not good then."

The others turned at the sound of the voice, and found Twilight coming out of the second-to-left room of the hallway, a book currently in tow wrapped in her magic.

"I heard everything. From Isildur, all the way up to the part of leaving the Shire," she admitted. "At first I didn't know what to do, what to believe. I started panicking while trying to come up with a solution, but couldn't find any. And then I did," she explained as she stepped further into the room. "The Shire is at risk because Sauron's forces know that this ring is supposed to be here? Well, what if it isn't? What if the Shire itself isn't anywhere to be found?" she suggested.

"And just how do you plan on doing something like that, darling?" Rarity asked, curious as to what she was getting at.

"Yeah, Twilight, can you teleport the whole Shire to somewhere else?" Pinkie asked.

"Not even close. But I can do the next best thing; I can hide it from view. I'll shield the entire area in a high-level cloaking illusion, so that anyone on the outside will see nothing but a huge mountain sticking out of the ground. No one would ever have reason to examine it and see if it's fake or not, and they'd simply leave the Shire alone. I'd just have to maintain it until the danger was gone," Twilight explained, smiling at the simple brilliance of it all.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Gandalf could do little more than smile. He had good reason to respect Twilight's intelligence, and critical thinking skills.

"If we were facing but Men alone, young Twilight, your idea might work. Sadly we don't. Sauron's spies come in many shapes and sizes, encompassing all manner of beasts. What you propose could easily be undone by but a single moth if it were not fooled by your craft," he explained solemnly, watching as her ears drooped at realizing the futility of her plan.

It was a good idea. But it was an unworkable idea.

"Alright. Let me see if I'm following this right, because I'm getting lost," Spike stated, before climbing up onto the table. "This little ring right here, holds the majority of this Sauron guy's power, and his evil, right? It's not serving any purpose to anyone else by existing, right?"

"Not a single one," Gandalf confirmed.

"That's all I wanted to know," Spike replied, before picking up the ring off the table, tossing it into the back of his throat, and swallowing it in one loud gulp.

"Spike! What're you doing!?" Twilight asked frantically as she charged for the table.

"Taking care of business. My stomach is like a blast furnace, what better place to put it? Besides, if I can digest diamonds, I can digest one puny ring," Spike told her as he patted his stomach proudly, before coughing. That ring had gone down rougher than he thought.

"That's beside the point, Spike, that ring must've been the source of the dark magic I've been sensing! There's no telling what danger you could be in right now!" Twilight stated.

"Relax, Twilight, I'll be fine. I've eaten cursed magical artifacts before and been alright," he assured her.

Granted he'd only eaten the tome that contained the 'inspiration manifestation' spell before. But he still counted that as evidence of it being possible. Apart from some indigestion afterward, he'd been fine.

And then he was hit by a coughing fit that racked his small frame, before one particularly hard cough brought the ring right back up, where it landed on the table.

"It would appear the ring disagreed with you," Gandalf commented dryly.

"Alright, that does it," Spike stated as he hopped off the table and made his way over to the fireplace to retrieve the tongs. "This ring want to play hardball, then fine!"

The others watched as Spike picked the ring up in the tongs, drew in a massive breath, and exhaled a concentrated stream of green fire right on it.

The heat even in the immediate vicinity was intense enough that everyone had to back away from the point of origin, and shield their eyes to avoid being blinded. For many of them it was as intense as staring into the sun itself. And just as easily as the flames had come, they came to an end. And the damage left behind in its wake told them all they needed to know.

The tongs themselves, made of forged iron, were currently red hot from where they'd been exposed to the flame, and were now drooping under the strain of their own weight. But the ring itself remained untouched, not even being darkened by the onslaught.

"I don't believe it!" Spike stated in disbelief. "That was over 2,000 degrees! That's hot enough to melt solid marble! How could that not be enough to destroy this thing!?"

"Sauron's evil goes far beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, I'm afraid," Gandalf commented, before moving to pat Spike on the shoulder. "Your efforts are well respected, my young friend. But I'm afraid there are no easy solutions to be had for us this time around..."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Rainbow Dash asked rhetorically. Nothing could ever be easy for them...

"So wha' do we do now?" Applejack asked.

"You will all have to travel with Frodo to Bree. I will meet you all there, at the inn of The Prancing Pony."

"And where will you be going?" Twilight asked.

"I must see the head of my order; he will know what to do, now that the Ring has been found." Gandalf glanced at the equestrians. "And perhaps while I'm there, if time allows, I can look for some means of returning you home. This is not your fight. But for now, get as much rest as you can. We will leave early on the morrow."

"Then I'm going with you," Twilight stated, "I've done my research while here, I have a much better grasp on the written language than I did. While you speak with Saruman about the ring, I'll look over whatever archives you have, for whatever spell may exist. That way, when I find out where this "Bree" is, I can teleport the both of us right there, and then we can proceed as needed," she explained.

"Uh, Twi', Ah'm not sure they know what teleportin' is," Applejack pointed out.

"Oh. Well teleportation is a controlled bending of both space, and time, in a specific area, to allow for immediate transport from one area to another," Twilight explained, before vanishing in a flash...

... and reappearing across the room.

"The only thing is that I need to know where I'm going. Teleporting without at least some idea of the intended destination, is simply too dangerous. And knowing a location's name, without any of the identifying information does me no good," she stated.

Gandalf was amazed by the demonstration that he'd just seen. Yet again, a demonstration that the wonders of Equestria were beyond his own level of understanding.

"Much as I would like to accept your assistance, Twilight, I feel that you may be needed elsewhere. It is something that I cannot readily explain, and yet I cannot shake it either..."
> Over River and Through Wood
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Over River and Through Wood


It was early the next day, barely at first light, that the ten of them set off on their respective journeys. Each of them carried bags filled with what they believed to be the necessary provisions to last them a long time; while they only planned to go to Bree, there was no way of telling just how long the journey would prove itself to be, or how many setbacks they might wind up having, what with the need to travel discretely. Or as discretely as six technicolor ponies could travel in a world largely made up on greens and browns.

A message to Princess Celestia had been burnt into the side of the road just outside the Shire, written in the Equestrian language so no one else could decipher it. It detailed where they were going, and where they could be found.

Gandalf traveled with them for a good part of the morning, but finally they came to the point where his road went south, while theirs went east.

As the wizard mounted his horse, Twilight looked up to him. "Where do we go after this?"

"To avoid unfriendly eyes, I would suggest going through the fields, and on lesser-known forest paths to Bucklebury Ferry. Follow Frodo and Sam, they will know the way. Bree is northeast of the Ferry, and there is more than one path to the town if such is needed. What path you choose, you will ultimately have to decide on your own," he added, glancing at the rest of the group intently. So much was being left to chance. Yet what choice did they have.

He then turned his attention to Frodo. "Never put It on, for the agents of the Dark Lord will be drawn to It. Always remember, that It is trying to get back to Him. It wants to be found, even if you do not." Without another word, Gandalf took off, quickly disappearing out of sight, his horse galloping down the dirt path.

Twilight just sighed. "Let's move on then to this ferry that he mentioned. I just hope that it's big enough for all of us to travel at once."

Sam glanced down at his feet, frowning. "I don't particularly like water."

Completely flabbergasted, Pinkie swiftly turned to him. "Don't like water? How could you not? Water's lots of fun!"

Sam mumbled, "I... I can't swim."

The pink pony's eyebrows shot up in a mix of amazement and disbelief. "Can't swim!? You'll have to learn then! I'll just toss you into a pond and we'll start from there!"

Sam visibly paled at the suggestion and Pinkie only grinned. That fact frightened the hobbit even more than the prospect of being thrown into the water.

"I'd- I'd rather not, Miss. Pinkie..."

"You certainly won't be willing now, would you?" Twilight muttered, glancing at the party pony exasperatedly. "Don't worry, Sam, she wouldn't really do that. For now, let's just keep moving, shall we? We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."



"You know, I just realized something."

One of the biggest difficulties faced when traveling, and not facing something that utterly demanded total focus, was how the mind had a tendency to wander. And when the mind wandered, boredom would eventually set in.

The group walked through many different fields and forests, some taking in more of the scenery than others, some asking more questions than others. But nothing could stave off the fact that all this walking was starting to cause mental exhaustion, from the lack of stimulating input. This was partially combated with the telling of a number of jokes, songs being sung, tales of their respective worlds being told, and even a few recipes being swapped between the more kitchen savy members of the group. It had helped, for a while anyway.

"What is it, Sam?" Twilight asked as she turned to look at the other hobbit, who was starting to lag behind somewhat.

"No offense to you and your friends, but you're all ponies. Couldn't we ride you to Bree, and save on some of the walking?" Sam asked.

"Huh," Twilight muttered to herself as she stopped walking. "I never really thought of that. That might actually be a good idea. What do you say, girls?"

"Ah reckon it'd be a'right," Applejack replied, before shrugging off her pack, and letting it drop to the ground. "Sam, why don' ya go ahead an' ride with me? Ah'll make sure Pinkie don' throw ya inta any ponds we pass by."

Sam chuckled, but accepted the offer nonetheless, climbing up onto the farmpony's back.

"I've never rode without a saddle before," he commented as he tried to situation himself.

"That makes us even, Ah ain' never worn a saddle before," Applejack commented as she let Sam get comfortable. "Don' ya worry none, Ah'll be careful. Jus' don' go pullin' on mah mane."

"I think I can handle that. Only question now is who does Mr. Frodo ride with?" Sam asked, not even noticing as Applejack's bags were scooped up by Pinkie.

"Um, he can ride me, if he doesn't mind that is," Fluttershy spoke up meekly.

"I have no complaints," Frodo replied and he approached. Truth be told, the opportunity to rest his feet was quite appealing right now.



Rarity didn't want to admit to it, but she was feeling quite exhausted at this point in time. She had volunteered to carry Fluttershy's share of the supplies while she carried Frodo, as it was the generous thing to do. In doing so, however, she had made one of the classic mistakes of weight versus strength. She had been alright with the amount of weight she'd been carrying, but had underestimated just what double that amount would feel like after a long stretch of constant movement.

She didn't want to appear weak, but it was no secret that she was far from the most athletic of the bunch. Despite all of the adventures they'd gone on back in Equestria, all the walking and running that had been done, she was starting to feel the exhaustion, now more than ever.

"I think we should stop for a rest," she heard Twilight state up ahead. Whether the Alicorn was aware of her condition, or she was simply exhausted herself, she didn't know right now. Nor did she truly care. She didn't even care if it meant sitting on the dirt road, just so long as she could rest her legs.

As it was, the place they stood in now was as good as any; they were currently in a large field, and the long stocks hid them from view from any spies that may be on the lookout for them. It would be the perfect place for a breather, and perhaps even supper; a supper that they could sit down to, rather than eating while on the march.

"I don't suppose there's any harm to be had in that," Frodo replied. Despite the importance of the mission he was tasked with, he couldn't deny the fact that he was getting hungry.

As they were about to actually sit down and take a rest, however, something caught their ear. Something in the fields; something all of them had heard, based on how many heads had turned to look.

"Have we been found?" Sam asked in a hushed tone.

"I don't know. But whatever's in there, it's coming towards us," Twilight replied in an equally hushed manner, her ears swiveling about as they picked up the noise of... something moving about just beyond the stocks.

That something reached them much sooner than she thought.

Before any of them could actually respond to the sounds, and verify whether it was friend or foe, two small figures ran straight into the group. One of them was unfortunate enough to trip over Twilight's hoof before she could pull. Unfortunately the trip had happened against her, with enough force to send her toppling. She fell into Applejack, the force of the impact serving to send her spilling into Fluttershy, with the same process repeating until almost the whole group had been toppled like dominoes. The only ones who had managed to escape being bowled over had been Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash who had taken to the air beforehand.

"Oh you gotta be joking!" Rainbow Dash groaned as she recognized who their visitors were.

"Hey! It's Merry and Pippin!" Pinkie cried gladly, eagerly helping the both of them to their feet. "How're you both doing?"

Merry and Pippin only nodded in greeting, still attempting to catch their breaths. The others were soon up themselves, a couple sending the two hobbits rather unappreciative glances; Twilight especially, as they had managed to send a new wave of pain shooting up her injured wings, and nearly making her lose her civil tongue. There was no time for angry words, though, for suddenly they heard a rather livid voice accompanied by barking dogs coming their way.

Applejack turned to the hobbits and saw that they carried many different types of vegetables. That, combined with the shaking scythe sticking up above the stocks, was enough to sour her opinion on the both of them; they were nothing but dirty vegetable stealing varmints!

But she'd deal with them later. Right now she wasn't in any mood to be facing an angry hobbit and dogs.

"Run!" Pippin cried, grabbing the cabbages and carrots that he dropped in the collision. Rainbow Dash looked at the vegetables, grinned, and quickly snatched a carrot from the hobbit as they ran.

The group raced through the field for about a minute, Merry and Pippin giving frantic excuses about their presence to a peevish-looking Frodo.

Applejack, well learned in the art of running from all of the races she and Rainbow Dash had, was easily in the front of the group. Meaning she was the first to see the quickly approaching steep drop of the hill, and managed to grind herself to a halt just in time to avoid going over the edge.

Or at least she managed to, until she was crashed into for a second time by whoever wasn't looking where they were going! Their unexpected trip down the hill was thankfully short, but highly uncomfortable for those that had been unfortunate enough to take the trip. Again, only Rainbow Dash had been spared, as she had been flying during their escape. All the while holding the pilfered carrot in her mouth.

At the end of the hill was a small drop that landed them onto a road. The lot of them each groaned as one as they landed hard upon the dirt, and it took them a moment to recover their senses, and wait for the world to quit spinning around them.

"Ah hope yer both proud o' yerselves," Applejack commented as she glared at the -oblivious- vegetable thieves. They wouldn't have gotten in this mess if they hadn't been causing mischief.

Merry let out another loud moan after the initial complaints, accompanied by a muttered statement along the lines of, "I think I broke something." He pulled out a carrot from beneath his body, which was now in two parts.

Rainbow Dash landed next to them, catching a few choice Equestrian profanities coming from the farmpony under her breath. She'd have to inquire about where she learned those later. For now, however, she just watched as the others picked themselves up, all the while munching on her carrot.

"There are times I wish I was still a unicorn," Twilight muttered to herself. All of these crash landings were doing her wings absolutely no favors.

Rainbow Dash just shook her head. She looked over at a very dusty Rarity, and considered teasing her about her grace while falling. But she ultimately thought better of it. Kicking the mare while she was down, was no fun at all.

And then Pippin suddenly gasped, bringing all attention to him.

"Look! Mushrooms!"

Merry and Sam turned to where Pippin saw them, and with much struggle, each of them tried to get more mushrooms than the other two.

Twilight couldn't help but frown. "How do you know those aren't poisonous?"

"Poisonous mushrooms? Whoever heard of such a thing!" Merry scoffed, filling his pockets with as many of them as he could.

Spike snorted. "What is it with you hobbits and mushrooms anyway?" he asked Frodo. This certainly wasn't the first time he had seen such weird behavior concerning hobbits and mushrooms during his time in the Shire.

Frodo, however, was not paying attention to them. He was staring down the road, and a strange look was in his eyes. "I think we should get off the road," he said suddenly.

Rainbow Dash stared at him, and then looked down the road as well. But whatever it was that caught his attention, she couldn't pick up on it. "Why?"

Rarity, to her slight disbelief, found herself agreeing with the rainbow maned Pegasus. "I understand Gandalf said to stay off the road, but I don't see anything coming down it. It looks utterly empty."

Frodo did not seem to hear them; indeed, he instead started to panic. "Get off the road! Quick!"

Twilight frowned as she observed the hobbit's strange mood, glanced at the others, and without a word of debate, they decided to do as Frodo suggested, if for no other reason than to try and calm him down. She alongside Rainbow Dash and Applejack pulled up the rest of the hobbits along, while the other four searched for a suitable hideout with Frodo. They quickly found a large hollow under a tree on the side of the road; several roots hid them effectively from the sight of anyone who traveled on the road slightly above the hollow.

How they all fit in there was nothing short of a miracle; and a rather cramped miracle at that. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie sat as far into the hollow as possible. Twilight sat on top of Pinkie, while Rarity, to her great displeasure, sat on top of Rainbow Dash. Merry and Pippin sat together on Fluttershy, while Frodo and Spike sat on Twilight and Sam on Applejack. In this rather uncomfortable position, trying to bite back complaints of getting squashed as they crunched up together and waited, though no one was sure what it was they waited for.

Sooner than they expected, than they'd hoped, their unspoken question was answered.

They all heard the heavy galloping of a horse on the road they had just been on. And they slowly found that the closer the horse came to them, a heavy, overwhelming sense of dread settled into each of them, reaching down into their hearts as it were.

To their chagrin, whatever the source causing the dread was, it stopped right above where they were hiding. Rainbow Dash peaked through a small crack between the roots and saw a black hoof covered in something that looked uncomfortably like blood. Foreboding, to say the very least.

The hoof was suddenly blocked by a foot in armor- armor loud enough for each of them to hear clearly. Their unexplainable dread began to turn into outright terror, as the figure they couldn't see, slowly approached their position.

The unseen rider bent down, and the group could see that it was a cloaked man dressed in black. He started sniffing the air, loudly, as if he were a beast tracking through scent rather than sight. Even the more adventurous and brave among them, dared not to so much as even breathe. Sam, who felt as if his heart had just turned into ice from the proximity, looked at Frodo to see how he was handling himself.

Quite poorly.

The other hobbit took something out of his pocket and Sam quickly realized that it was the Ring. He grabbed Frodo's left hand so he could not slip the Ring on it. Frodo quickly came out of the trance he was in, and shoved the Ring back into his pocket upon the realization on what had almost occurred in his moment of fear.

In a sudden and unexpected movement, Merry grabbed their bag filled with mushrooms and threw it over to his left. The hooded man let out a loud, piercing shriek at the noise and sudden movement, and went for the decoy, leaving them alone. As soon as he moved, the company stood as fast as they were able, and started running down the hill, far away from the road as fast as their legs or wings could carry them.



"What in the name of all Tartarus was that thing!?"

That was the question asked by Rarity, in between desperate attempts at catching her breath. They had run long, they had run hard, and she was about ready to drop dead where she stood, using a tree for support.

"It was practically sniffing us like some sort of wild dog! What sort of sick country is this?" she asked further.

Frodo did not heed her words. Instead he looked at the Ring, astounded. Twilight quietly came over to him and stared at the piece of jewelry, remembering Gandalf's foreboding speech to Frodo just last night.

"So that's what drew him here, to us? That ring?" she asked, Frodo slowly nodded, and quickly put it back again into his pocket. Twilight eyed his pocket for a moment, idly wishing he had left it out in view for even just another moment longer, before hesitantly turning away.

Rainbow Dash sat on the ground, hoping her scowl masked any terror that she felt. "Whatever that... thing was, it better not come here again! I haven't felt so cold even in the harshest of winters! And I've helped organize the last five years worth of winters in Ponyville!"

Applejack shook her head. "Yeah, Ah don' wanna see 'en either, but I have a strange feeling that whatever it was, we'll be seein' it again..."

"Whatever that thing was, the cold it generates is completely unnatural. I've never felt anything like that before," Twilight added. It was the kind of chill that one felt not so much in their bones, but rather in their soul. Crazy as it sounded, that's what it struck her as being like.

Pippin, unlike the rest of them, was not thinking about the strange horseman. Instead he was far too preoccupied with yelling at Merry about slightly more pressing matters.

"The mushrooms! Why the mushrooms? We need those mushrooms!"

More pressing to them, that was.

"Quiet, Pippin!" Sam scolded, turning his attention briefly from Frodo. "I'd like those mushrooms too. I could've made a wonderful gravy to go along with supper, but better them than us!" Pippin glared at both Sam and Merry, before stalking away from the both of them, not wanting to do anything he might particularly regret.

Merry, who was hardly paying any attention to his cousin, shook himself out of shock. "We need to keep moving." He paused. "By the way, where are you all heading to? And where did Gandalf go?"

"We're going to the ferry. Where Gandalf is I don't know, but our business is none of your concern, Merry," Frodo stated. "Let's keep moving before that thing comes back for us."

Merry did not look pleased at the answer he'd been given. But rather than simply leave them, he continued with the group on the way to the Ferry. Pippin, realizing he did not want to be left alone, followed quickly after them, his disappointment over the lost mushrooms soon forgotten. They had bigger fish to fry right now.

And now he was really wishing he hadn't thought of that, because it just reminded him of how hungry he was.



It was a good hour past sunset, and it was not too long ago that the company had changed their pace from a brisk walk, to an all out run. The chill that came when the hooded black rider was nearby, was growing strong all around them, serving to motivate them to push on past the exhaustion, until they no longer had any push left in them.

They stopped near the road, taking refuge behind some tall brush. They sat down, all of them weary and gasping for breath. Merry glanced around nervously, before crawling his way over to Frodo, a determined look upon his face.

"Frodo, you owe me and Pip some explaining. We're going with you, whether you like it or not. We're your cousins and we love you-"

"Most of the time," Pippin threw out jokingly with a grin.

"-and us hobbits have to stick together as it is," Merry continued as he poked Frodo in the shoulder several times to emphasize the point. "So why don't you just tell us why you're leaving the Shire, and heading to the ferry? We don't want to get unpleasant, but we will if need be," he warned.

Frodo looked at him with a frown, still breathing heavily. The way things were proceeding, they left a lot to be desired. "We have enough people already; no more are needed, Merry."

Merry nodded slowly, as if he knew that would be the answer. "It's about that ring, isn't it?"

Frodo looked at him, gaping. "How- how did you know?"

Merry grinned. "Me and Pip are known as the best eavesdroppers in the Shire; we once heard Bilbo talking about it. How it made you invisible and all. We don't rightly know what else there is to this ring; there obviously is though, since you are leaving the Shire because of it."

Frodo shot him a grim smile. He never should have underestimated the two. If they knew this much, then they were as much a liability as anything. They would have little choice but to take them along now.

"Very well then. We are now eleven, trying to escape one terrifying rider that leaves your blood feeling as if it was turned to ice, with a ring that is more powerful than any other force in the known world. The rider is likely after this ring, and intends to take it from us by force. And with that knowledge, we need to flee to a ferry that will likely not hold all of us on it at once."

Twilight overheard Frodo, but rather than trying to appreciate his wry humor, she shook her head instead.

And then something caught her attention. And if her blood hadn't felt like ice water in her veins before, it certainly did now!

"Not just one rider- look!" She whispered anxiously and pointed cautiously over the bushes that hid them from the road. They saw two riders together.

Rainbow Dash frowned at this development. "Two of them now. As if one of them wasn't bad enough. Ugh, that's exactly what we didn't need!"

While she and her friends had dealt with creatures and villains that threatened Equestria, in all various shapes, sizes, and capabilities, these were something else entirely. They could generate far more terror than anything else they'd ever faced before; even Nightmare Moon couldn't hold a candle to these guys.

Frankly put, she did not like the feeling; it downright disturbed her.

Fluttershy shook her head. "There is a third!" she squeaked out.

Pippin glanced at Frodo worriedly. "How many are there, Frodo?"

Frodo simply shook his head, not knowing the answer himself.

The riders galloped off, away from them. Twilight didn't know what had drawn their attention, but she pitied it regardless. She stood up from where she hid, brushing her legs subconsciously. "We need to hurry. Does anyone here know exactly where this ferry is?"

"I do," said Merry, "And I shall lead the way."

There was a nod of agreement, and one by one, they each made their way out of the brush on their way to the ferry.

Without warning, a rider blocked their path with its horse.

They jumped in fright, and in a panic, started screaming directions to each other as they made a mad dash at evading the hooves of the rider's horse as it stomped about, knowing they could easily get crushed. Panic triggered the production of adrenaline, and adrenaline fueled the fight or flight response.

Specifically which one they were doing right now was anyone's guess.

Rainbow Dash was off like a shot, a multi-colored spectral trail left in her wake as she hurtled past the rider, startling both it and its horse, the latter rearing up and kicking wildly.

"Move!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she veered back around hard, continuously circling the enemy at high speeds, leaving it incapable of moving to intercept them.

"We need to get to the ferry!" Twilight yelled anxiously.

No one needed to be told a second time, as everyone was off and running for their lives as Rainbow Dash worked her own brand of magic, keeping the rider too distracted to follow.

Fatigue was catching up with them faster than anything else right now. A hundred meters was all that separated them from the safety of the ferry, but it might as well have been a mile with the condition they were in right now.

"I can see it!" Twilight panted, the glow of the lantern mounted on the post signalling that they were getting closer. "We're almost there! Just a little bit further!"

"What about Rainbow Dash? We can't just leave her behind!" Pinkie stated as they ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

"As if you'd ever get rid of me that easy!" Rainbow Dash called as she flew into view just overhead. "I split when the dude pulled out his sword and tried to chop me in half. I couldn't even knock him off his horse before I had to bail!"

"Worry 'bout it later, ya featherbrained idiot. Jus' haul flank!" Applejack barked in response.

Just a few more yards. Just a few more yards! That was the mantra running through their minds as they ran.

None of them particularly remembered the jump that landed them on the ferry, which turned out to be little more than a large raft. All they knew was that they had made it. It was cramped with all of them so crowded together, but at least they would be safe now. They hoped.

"Hey wait for us!"

The yell made them all look back towards the dock. And then the realization that Spike and Frodo had been left behind! And the rider was catching up to them quickly, its sword drawn and ready to strike them down!



"Hey wait for us!" Spike yelled as the rider was quickly gaining up on them. He did not want to be left alone with this, or any other rider. There was something about it that reminded Spike of King Sombra, only much, much worse. Something much darker, and much more deadly than the dark tyrant.

"Jump!"

Whether it had been his call or Frodo's, he didn't know for sure. All he knew was hitting the end of the plank, and desperately leaping towards the ferry as it moved further and further away from them. There was little doubt in his mind that they were going to just miss it, and wind up landing in the water.

And then they both found themselves stopping just short of the water, the two of them caught by Rarity's magic, and spared a very wet fate, as they were brought onto the ferry with the rest of them.

The rider shrieked furiously, louder than any shriek they'd heard before at missing its quarry. It sounded downright furious!

And then they watched as the dock collapsed underneath it without warning, sending both the rider and its horse into the river. And if they thought it had shrieked loudly before, that was nothing compared to the ruckus it was making now, as they both thrashed out, trying to make it back onto dry land.

"Serves them right," Twilight mumbled as the glow of her horn died down. That had felt very, very satisfying after everything they'd been through.

"How far to the nearest crossing?" Frodo asked Merry, still watching as their pursuers were in the process of climbing out of the river.

"The Brandywine Bridge- twenty miles," he replied, watching as the other riders ran along the road on the other side of the river, eventually being followed by their soggy companion.

"Twenty miles," Twilight repeated, "so that means twenty miles to the crossing. Twenty miles back to here to pick up our trail... top running speed of a horse is approximately thirty miles an hour... that means we've got, best case scenario, an hour and a half to get our flanks as far away from here as possible," she explained.

They abandoned the raft on the other side of the river, silently thankful that all of the weight hadn't been enough to sink it, and send them into the water; Sam especially.

"Rainbow Dash?"

"What's up, Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Thanks for keeping that thing busy. I know it couldn't have been easy for you to face it on your own..."

Rainbow Dash just shrugged, not really wanting to talk about it. If she talked about it, that meant she had to think about it. And she desperately didn't want to think about it...

Once on the shore the group headed due east, following the road from the ferry. After a while they came to a crossroad; one way led north, another east, and the last path went south.

Spike sighed at this development. "Great. Now where do we go?"

"Well, south is definitely not where we want to go; Bree is northeast from here," Frodo said. "So, we either take the road North and follow it until we come to the Brandywine Bridge, and then we go East from there, or we go East into the forest, and then cut a path northeast through it."

Merry shook his head. "Frodo, we can't go in there; that's the Old Forest. There are creatures in there that we don't want to deal with."

Frodo nodded. "Yes, but we have those black riders following us. By going through the forest, we can lose them."

"Why don't we vote?" asked Pippin. Frodo nodded, turning to all of them.

"Well, which way do you want to go? The road or the forest?"

Rainbow Dash spoke first. "I vote for the forest. Galloping through trees isn't going to be easy. Plus it's a lot harder to swing a sword in tight quarters," she pointed out.

"Ah wanna stay on the road; Ah can't explain it, but there's something in them woods that jus' don' feel natural ta me," Applejack stated, shuddering as she glanced at the trees with a frown.

Sam voted for taking the forest, for he was just as terrified of those riders, while Pippin wanted to take the road, for he had heard many tales that were not complimentary about the Old Forest. With the others each casting their own votes, they found that they were at an impasse: Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Spike, Pinkie Pie, and Sam, versus Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Merry, and Pippin.

It was now all up to Frodo to decide which path to take.

"I am terrified of the forest," Frodo admitted, "but I am even more terrified of those riders. And I have a feeling they are after It. So we will go through the Old Forest." The hobbit sighed. "Let's get some rest on the borders of the forest, right by the hedge, and we will go in tomorrow morning."

"Alright then," Twilight replied and nodded, "before we do, however, I think it best if we travel incognito from here on out."

"Incogwhatnow?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight just rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Everypony, open your packs, you'll find a cloak inside. Gandalf and I talked before we turned in for the night back at Bag End. He had a valid point that we all sort of stick out like a sore thumb. So I borrowed these cloaks from Bilbo, and cast a strong enchantment spell on each of them. When we wear them, to anyone else, we'll just look like seven very nondescript hobbits, rather than ourselves. We'll have a far better chance of blending in, if we look like we're from around here," she explained.

"Now that's some good thinkin' right there, Twi'," Applejack stated. With those riders knowing what they looked like, a disguise was probably in their best interest.

"We also need to find a secluded place in which to hide for a while. I have an idea, but it's going to take a while to put into effect," Twilight added.

"What sort of idea might that be?" Sam asked.

"Some time ago there was an... incident... back in Ponyville where we came from. The entire area was besieged by unprecedented levels of dark magic," Twilight explained, shooting an annoyed glance at both Spike and Rarity in remembrance. "There was a lot of cleanup involved, that I was a part of. I'm hoping to apply the same process here as I did there."

"And that process is what?" Frodo asked.

"Dispersing dark magic; a process that only an Alicorn is capable of performing. Only they have the ability to truly destroy such an accursed existence, rather than burying it away behind layer after layer of sealing charms. I'm going to see if I can do the same thing here in Middle Earth; I'm going to try and disperse the dark evil that the ring contains within itself..."
> Tom Bombadil
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Tom Bombadil


"D... destroy it?" Frodo asked in disbelief. Were they seriously discussing such a course of action? Yes, he understood just how dangerous the ring he was carrying could potentially cause. But still, the thought of destroying something as beautiful as...

Frodo stopped, and took a deep breath. This ring, this accursed item, was weaving its magic on even him. It was almost like it was fully aware of what Twilight was saying, and was responding with panic to the idle discussion of ending its existence.

"Do you think that you can do it?" he asked curiously.

At that, all Twilight could really do was shrug. "I really don't see why not. It's... hard to quantify the magic I'm sensing coming from the ring, in terms of measurement from my own world. But what I'm sensing... leaves me fairly certain that I can do it. It's simply a matter of..." Twilight paused, realizing that the discussion of magical theory might go right over Frodo's head. Even Gandalf seemed lost at some points during her informing him about their world. Perhaps it would be better to give a very simplified answer, even if it would technically be incorrect. "Well... it involves pouring a sufficient amount of positive magic into the object, serving to counteract and negate the amount of dark magic that exists. The two cancel each other out."

Frodo nodded in understanding as he fished the ring out of his pocket. But Twilight recognized it as being the nod someone gave when they didn't have a clue what was being talked about, and simply wanted everything to move along smoothly, for the sake of getting by. She'd let that go for now, as it wasn't important.

"This isn't going to be dangerous, is it?" he asked as he held the ring out to her in the palm of his hand.

"For you, not really. Not so long as you haven't been infused with dark magic yourself," Twilight explained.

Without warning, Pinkie was right by Frodo's side, rearing up onto her hind legs and proceeded to give him a long lick on the side of his face.

Naturally he freaked, shirking away in confusion as to what had just happened.

"He tastes free of dark magic to me!" Pinkie stated cheerfully.

Twilight blinked, and sighed, and simply shook her head. She'd address Pinkie later on. But for right now she had more important things to focus on.

"Alright, let's give this a go. Hold still please," she said as her horn started to glow brightly.

Frodo watched as a purple beam of light shot from the end of Twilight's horn and made contact with the ring. He nearly dropped it in surprise, certain that her magic would burn his skin because of how bright it was. But much to his surprise, he felt no discomfort whatsoever. It was no worse than being under the bright sun itself.

And then there was a sudden flash as Twilight's beam cut out, and she was sent flying backwards, hurtled off the ground by an unseen force with an accompanying scream of surprise.

"Gotcha!"

Rainbow Dash had been there in a flash, catching Twilight before she could land roughly against the ground, gently setting her back down on all four of her hooves.

"What the hay was that?" she asked.

"I'm not sure," Twilight replied, feeling shaken up by it all. "But I think what Gandalf said about Sauron was right. That should have been enough to purify a fairly large amount of dark magic, but it just rebounded. Either my magic doesn't work properly in this world, or Sauron was far more powerful than I originally assumed."

"So what does that mean for us?" Sam asked as he approached cautiously.

"It means that I'm going to need to try harder. I'm going to need to bring my full strength as an Alicorn to bear if we're to succeed. I don't know how it might stack against the Dark Lord Sauron, but back in my world, the Dark Lord Sombra would have been crushed by such overwhelming strength," Twilight stated firmly as she approached again, her horn beginning to glow brightly. "Frodo, you might want to set the ring down for this one. I can't make any guarantee that you wouldn't be harmed by this. Everyone, you may wish to step back a ways, just in case."

Frodo was in no mood to argue with Twilight at hearing this. The malice, and disgusted reverence in her voice when she spoke of this "Sombra" individual, filled him with a sense on unease, and suggested that he wasn't an individual that should be trifled with under any circumstances. That was enough to motivate him to set the ring down on the floor of the forest path, and quickly step back several paces. The others followed suit, giving Twilight a wide berth to work whatever magic she had to her.

And then they each stepped back several more paces, just to be certain.

Twilight stopped several paces from the ring, closing her eyes, and breathing slowly in concentration to summon the strength she would need for the task ahead of her.

Everyone watched as Twilight's eyes flew open, glowing completely white, as lavender flames emerged from the outer corners of her eyes, flickering like mad as a very bright beam hurtled towards where the ring laid on the ground, crashing against it with a blinding flash of light that forced them all to shield their eyes, finding it even brighter than Spike's fire when he'd tried to destroy the ring himself.

The group had quickly reached the decision that they hadn't been far enough away from Twilight, as they were all feeling the tingling of her magic in the area, as it made their hair stand on end.

And then it just stopped. Whatever she was doing, it ended abruptly without notice, leaving them to wait for their eyes to adjust to the darkness once again.

"Did it work?" Spike asked as he rubbed his eyes, starting to make out shapes again.

"No," Twilight sighed to herself and hung her head in defeat. "If this ring had a tongue, it would be giving me the raspberry at me right now..."

"What's a raspberry?" Pippin asked as his night vision finally came back.

"This," Rainbow Dash replied, before sticking her tongue out and giving him a demonstration. Then she turned back to Twilight. "So that's it? We need to go through the forest to Bree to deal with this thing?"

"It looks that way," Twilight replied and nodded, "there's one other thing that I might be able to try. But we really don't have enough time for it," she explained.

"And what might that be?" Frodo asked as he picked up the ring and placed it back in his pocket for safekeeping.

"Well... at this point it's more theory and speculation than anything else. But I think under the right circumstances, I could grow stronger," Twilight stated.

"Stronger?" Applejack asked, quirking an eyebrow in the process. "Sugarcube, Ah thought ya jus' said ya were usin' yer full Alicorn strength, an' it still didn' do any good."

"I was. But that was simply all the strength I had at present. It's... sort of complicated," Twilight replied, trying to think of how to explain everything. "In the months that have passed since the battle with Tirek I felt... different in a way. I couldn't really explain it back then, but often I felt like I wasn't using anywhere near my full strength. Sometimes I got the feeling that I was practically walking on eggshells no matter what I was doing, and trying not to break anything. I don't really have any way of proving it, but I think that when I was tasked with holding all of the Alicorn magic in Equestria, it might have changed my body, and pushed it beyond its normal limits. I honestly don't think a regular body could have held all of that force; it was just way too much for that to be a possibility."

"How much?" Pinkie asked.

"That's... difficult to quantity in round terms to a non-unicorn. But... well let's say that, for the sake of comparison, when I became an Alicorn, all of my magic could be represented by a block of marble that weighed four tons. After Princess Celestia, Luna, and Cadance gave me their magic, that block of marble would have to be more like 80 tons," Twilight explained.

"Holy cow!" Rainbow Dash stated. She was joined by a chorus of others who shared her amazement at the explanation.

Twilight simply nodded. "As I said, the amount of magic my body was tasked with housing was immense. With so little knowledge of Alicorn anatomy being available, I just don't think it could've done that without a resulting change occurring to make it possible. I think my body might have been modified from the strain it was under. I think it might have remembered some of the strength it housed at one point, and now that it's not there, it's attempting to fill that void."

It was at this point that Pinkie moved beside Twilight, and started running her hooves along her barrel, causing Twilight to laugh in response to the unexpected tickling.

"You feel the same to me as you did before, Twilight," Pinkie stated, before turning to Rarity. "Hey Rarity, can I borrow your measuring tape to double check?"

"That's not what I meant, Pinkie. What I mean, is that I think my body is trying to fill up that void on its own through the expansion of my magical reserves; like refilling a water bottle that's almost empty. Theoretically this would simply mean that I could continue using magic for an extended period of time, without getting as tired as easily. Unless the reserves aren't readily accessible, except through meeting some physical or emotional requirements that render it possible," Twilight explained. "Like I said, it's complicated. I really didn't have any idea of just how much power I was wielding, until after Tirek destroyed my home. That's when the flood gates opened, and I truly had an idea of just what was at my hooves..."

"So you're saying you need to get pissed to get stronger?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Well I wouldn't put it like that, but for lack of a better way of describing it, more or less," Twilight replied and nodded. "But we're talking about far more than simply getting angry. We're talking about an intense emotional upheaval. And I don't know if I can muster that at will right now. I'd need to run a lot of tests, and it would take a lot of time. And right now time is something we don't have. At best we've got... I'd say a little more than 80 minutes before those riders make it back to the crossroads on the other side of the river."

"Well then what're we waiting for? Let's haul tail on outta here!" Spike stated. Standing around right now, when something wicked was coming for them, was way too stupid to consider.

"I'm with him," Pippin added, "let's be gone, and be quick about it. The night isn't getting any lighter, and those riders are only gettin' further away either!"

There was little in the way of discussion as the group agreed with the recommendation. They would set off now, their path illuminated by the glow of Twilight's horn, go as far as they could, then find somewhere secluded to camp for the night. After that they would continue on further at first light.

"So you know what she was talking about back there?" Merry asked Pippin as they guided the bunch ahead.

"Not a word of it. But as Mum always said, 'never argue with a talking pony'," Merry replied.

"She never said that!" Pippin stated.

"How would you know? You weren't there!" Merry retorted.

"QUIET!" the rest of the group shouted, putting an end to the bickering of the two.



The night wore on. Sleep eventually claimed them all, the lot of them camping in a secluded spot far off from the main road, too tired to bother with keeping watch in case the riders found them.

At dawn the next day, after taking the opportunity to get breakfast, the company finally entered the Old Forest without a word. Silently they passed through the small door that was the only entrance from the Shire to the Old Forest, for a tall hedge blocked it off from the rest of the forest.

Soon the early morning daylight disappeared, as they began to pass deeper on through the many species of trees in the wood. Sunlight that managed to emerge through the entangling branches was rare, so it was somewhat difficult to keep to the dark path.

"I can't see my hand in front of my face," Pippin commented.

"That's because it's in front of my face," Merry retorted.

"Do I have to separate you two?" Sam asked, really not in the mood for their nonsense at this time. "Just keep moving."

As they went deeper into the woods, the trail became rougher, and the forest darker. Their original plan was to keep to the trail going northeast, but as the moved on, that was getting harder to actually do. It was almost like the forest had other ideas, and was intent upon acting accordingly.

"This place reminds me a lot of the Everfree Forest back home," Rainbow Dash muttered as they walked along. And she really hated being limited to simply walking. "Now that place was really bad news to be stuck in."

"Do I even want to know how bad?" Sam asked rhetorically.

"Livin' rock creatures that'll gobble ya up if yer not careful," Applejack stated.

"You win!" Merry stated. Shortly before falling flat on his face due to an errant tree root. "Ouch."



"Twilight, can't you light the way like you were doing last night?" Rainbow Dash grumbled, feeling one of her hooves snag on yet another tree root in the path.

"I don't know if that would be for the best, Rainbow Dash. We have no way of knowing where those riders are. And it stands to reason that any sign of lavender light will stick out to them, since they saw it last night. We could give ourselves away. For all we know they could easily be somewhere in here with us," Twilight pointed out, doing her best to avoid snagging her wing on any rogue branches that might be sticking out. They were already getting enough twigs in their manes and tails as it was.

"Good. If we're tripping and falling on each other, someone else should be as well," Rarity commented, trying to focus on anything other than the fact that creeping through all of these rogue branches was ruining her coat.

For a while the group continued in silence, minus the declarations of pain, and various colorful language from one or another at trying to pass through a particularly thick and dense area of forest that simply didn't want to cooperate.

"We're going the wrong way," Twilight pointed out as they trudged along.

"How can you tell?" Pinkie asked.

"Assuming this world has the same north/south magnetic poles that Equestria does. I tapped into the magnetic fields with my magic, and the northern pole is behind us. We're headed south," Twilight explained, "I'm starting to think that we're going around in circles. It's... almost like the flora of this forest is treating us like we're an infection in the body, and trying to keep us from advancing."

Frodo nodded to what he could best understand regarding the statement. "Yes, it seems like the trees have other ideas. They appear to keep blocking us."

Applejack chuckled at hearing that. "Moving trees? Whoever heard of such a thing?"

Merry shot her a look. "The Old Forest isn't a normal forest, Applejack. Years ago this forest actually tried to fight against the people of Buckland- grew over the hedge at a rapid pace, and would not stop despite the fact that the residents of Buckland cut it back constantly. It wasn't until they made a great bonfire that the forest finally ceased its attempts to cross the hedge."

Applejack narrowed her eyes at hearing that. "So y'all got thinkin' trees here? Huh. Ah... don' know how ta feel 'bout that."

"As interesting as that is, that still doesn't change the fact that we are heading in the wrong direction," said Rainbow Dash pointedly.

"Well there isn't much we can do about it now, can we?" Merry snapped, his patience growing thin. He had really not wanted to go through the forest in the first place. And now those that had wanted to, were complaining about the fact that it wasn't going like they wanted it to.

Rainbow Dash held up her hooves in mock surrender. "Just saying."

With very little left to say, everyone continued on their trek as best they could, making every effort to stay as far away from the trees as possible, for fear of what they might be motivated to do if they should stray too far.



"I don't believe it..."

Many hours into their journey, quite a while after they had stopped attempting to go in any direction that the forest did not agree to, they reached a river. It was mid afternoon, and the Old Forest had steered them south the whole time. Merry saw groaned audibly at the sight of the river, knowing just what it meant.

"Well, at least now I know where we are. We are completely off course. This is the Withwindle; we're in the southern part of the Old Forest. However, if we just follow this river, we should get out of the forest soon enough. Once we are out of the woods, we go north across the Barrow-downs, and then take the East Road to Bree. Then..." He paused.

"Then we will see what there is to see," Frodo ended for him. "Come along then. The sooner we are out of here, the better. We do not want to spend the night in here."

"Forget that!" Rainbow Dash loudly objected, bringing everyone's attention to her. "We tried playing fair this whole time, and look at where it got us! Well forget that, and forget this forest! Let's just blow!"

Rarity waited until Rainbow Dash's outburst concluded before speaking up. "And just how do you suggest we do that, darling?"

"Remember how we helped the breezies when they blew through town? Same basic concept. Twilight turns all of us into pegasi, just like how she turned us all into breezes, then she blows a hole through the tree canopies, and we just fly on out of this forest, and continue on the rest of the way to Bree, high above where no black riders can ever reach!" Rainbow Dash stated in a triumphant manner.

The looks Rainbow Dash received from the others were as varied as they individuals themselves. Some were of amazement, some disbelief, and some as if she were spouting insanity.

"Can she do that?" Pippin asked as he looked at Merry. Merry simply shrugged in response.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight spoke up as she slowly approached, "while I appreciate your efforts at looking for a solution, that simply won't work. There are just too many issues with it, for it to be a viable option."

"Name one," Rainbow Dash replied quickly, her voice carrying an edge that practically reeked of looking for a confrontation.

"Well let's see. How about the fact that I still can't fly for starters? Even if the rest of you can fly, I'm still grounded until this nerve stops being pinched," Twilight pointed out.

"So I'll just carry you out. It won't be the first time we've done something like that," Rainbow Dash replied.

Twilight coughed and cleared her throat, her cheeks feeling hot at the idea of the solution. Undaunted, she continued.

"Secondly, while that might work for some of us, the same can't be said for others. Being a different species, to say nothing of from a different world, there's no guarantee that Sam, Frodo, and the others, will be able to comprehend the inborn pegasus instinct that their new form would carry with it. For Applejack or Rarity, it would be different since they're ponies. But there's no guarantee for hobbits. There's nothing saying they'd know how to fly," she explained.

"Then we'll just teach them how to fly. As long as their wings are the right size, I'm not seeing the problem," Rainbow Dash replied.

"The problem is that it could take them hours to learn the mechanics of flying properly. And as cramped as the forest has been lately, they really wouldn't have adequate practice room for learning about take offs and landings. That fact aside, their newly formed wing muscles wouldn't have the strength to carry them for very long, so any flying they could do, would be very limited. All of which is contingent upon them even being able to get off the ground to begin with," Twilight stated.

"Now you're just going and looking for reasons why this would fail," Rainbow Dash stated accusingly as she poked Twilight with her hoof.

Twilight ignored the poke and simply frowned in response. "Alright then. Let's say everything went smoothly, Frodo and the others can fly out of the forest with the rest of us. They wouldn't know how to fly acrobatically like you can. They'd be slow, uncoordinated, and easy pickings if the black riders have any archers in their ranks. We'd practically be marching them into a slaughter if we gave them wings, but not the skills to use them to their maximum potential. You know how look it took for me to learn how to use them, and I've been a pony all my life. Imagine how hard it would be for them to not only need to learn how to use newly formed appendages with no correlation to what they already have, but also a new body entirely. They'd be lucky to know how to crawl without falling on their faces," Twilight pointed out.

Rainbow Dash wanted to respond, the rebut, to offer up any sort of argument that would undo the points Twilight had raised to discredit her idea. But despite her best efforts, she simply couldn't. There were just too many good points being raised for her to argue against them. Twilight had used her own exceptional skills as an explanation for why her suggestion just wouldn't work. What was she supposed to do in light of that; argue that she wasn't so awesome that anypony could compete with her?

"You don't play fair," she grumbled in response and hung her head.

Twilight just shook her head. "Besides all of that, Rainbow Dash, we're supposed to be traveling incognito. As soon as we get out of this forest, we should put those cloaks on so we look like everyday hobbits. And hobbits can't fly through the air," she pointed out. "Seriously. Can you think up a logical explanation we could give to anyone who would witness a flying hobbit? Much less a group of flying hobbits?"

Rainbow Dash didn't even blink before responding. "Too many turnips and cabbage."

The others present, who had been observing the back and forth conversation like it was a tennis match, immediately split in terms of response to Rainbow Dash's comment. Spike, Applejack, Pinkie, Merry, Pippin, and even Sam, all laughed or otherwise chuckled. Rarity, Twilight, Fluttershy, and Frodo either frowned at the suggestion, or simply responded with disinterest.

"You're hopeless," Twilight sighed, "look. Let's just keep moving. We're not getting anywhere just standing around here, talking about what won't work."

"Do ya mind if we rest fer a spell first? Mah hooves are killin' me from walkin' through this forest," Applejack stated. She didn't know about the others, but her frogs were aching terribly right now. How Frodo and the others were holding up with bare feet was well beyond her, when they looked so much more delicate then their own hooves did.

"Mine too. This forest is rougher walking than the Everfree Forest," Pinkie added.

"Alright," Twilight replied, knowing that there was no way of winning this discussion. They could all sit and rest for a few minutes, and then set off again.

"Let's rest under that large willow tree," Pippin suggested as seeing they were going to get a breather.

"Sure. Sounds fine to me," Twilight replied. Under the tree was as good as anywhere else.

She didn't want to admit to it, but stopping for a rest felt very good right now as she sat down with the others. She'd been on her hooves for who knew how many hours, and now she was starting to feel it. And it felt just short of excruciating to experience right about now.

"I'll just close my eyes for a few minutes," she told herself as they all sat down and made themselves comfortable.



A quick shout broke the silence in the area. Swiftly afterwards there was a large splash, and with that last sound that snapped them all back to attention. They saw that Rainbow Dash was in the river, cursing Equestrian profanities loudly enough to disturb any remaining wildlife nearby as she splashed furiously. She quickly got out and started yelling some more.

"That bucking tree just threw me in the bucking river!" she screamed, glaring at it darkly, before vigorously shaking herself like a dog to dry off her coat.

"RD, Ah think yer dreamin' er somethin', trees don' just throw ponies on their own," Applejack replied, finding the story more than a little difficult to believe.

Rainbow Dash didn't even blink before responding. "Plunder vines."

"Touche," Applejack replied, before taking note of something else that was out of place. "Where in the hay is mah hat?"

"Looks like it's up there," Spike said as he pointed up to a low hanging willow branch on which the aforementioned hat was stuck.

"Consarn it!" Applejack grumbled as she got up and leaped to retrieve her hat, only for it to fall just out of her reach; like the branch had moved in anticipation of her movement. "Ya cheater! Ah'm getting back what's mine, one way er another!"

Twilight had been watching since Rainbow Dash's unexpected bath, silently taking stock of everything. The warning about this not being a normal forest was starting to carry a lot more weight. Maybe there was really serious merit to Rainbow Dash's suggestion that they fly their way out of here. Even if nothing else, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity could be turned into pegasi, and that would give them five viable fliers. Depending on who rode with whom, they could get everyone out in one trip.

But just as she was about to speak up, a new development occurred, completely throwing them off course. That development occurred in the form of willow branches reaching down without warning, and quickly snatching up Fluttershy, Rarity, Merry, and Pippin, all with no regard whatsoever for the panic it caused them as they screamed helplessly. Nor a measure of concern for the amount of peril they were being put in.

That did not set well with the Princess of Friendship at all.

"Let them go!"

She was tired, and now she was furious that her friends might be put at risk. In her state, thinking rationally wasn't proving to be the easiest thing to do. Rather than approaching the problem from a logical angle, she went with something far more viscerally satisfying; that being conjuring a sword forged of pure magical energy, floating above her head.

It was a high-level, complex spell that she'd only learned the basics of recently, and had been nowhere near mastering at this point in time; evidenced by the shimmering, flicking, and even arcing along the blade, showing that it was far from being stable. But it should still have enough solidity to it, to let her cut the offending branches down, and rescue the others.

Sam, not wanting to be left on the sidelines, undid his pack and dug out the hatchet he had packed the journey ahead of them, in the event of needing wood for a cooking fire. In this case, however, it was needed for wood of an entirely different purpose.

"Don't!" Fluttershy yelled as best she could with the branch curled tightly around her ribs. "He says he'll suffocate us if you harm him!"

At hearing this news, Spike lost it. Up until now he'd been doing his best to stay calm, and keep focused on what was important; like getting out of this forest. But now, apparently the forest had other ideas. Not only was it threatening them and their friends, it was also threatening Rarity of all ponies. He wasn't about to stand for that; not one bit!

"If that stupid tree does, I'm gonna burn down this whole bucking forest!" he roared as loudly, and as furiously as he could manage. "And I'm gonna start with him! I'm a dragon, I can do that!" he added, embers of green flame already spilling past his lips as he spoke to emphasize his point.

Twilight, despite being furious, was horrified by what Spike had just so boldly declared; not just because of the language, but also by the fact that he was apparently willing to cause so much damage in response to their friends being threatened. But before she could say anything in response, before any of them could say anything in response, something else caught their attention. Everyone heard some sort of singing coming from somewhere further down the river path.

"Hey dol! Merry dol! Ring a dong dillo! Ring a dong! Hop along! Fal lal the willow! Tom Bom, jolly Tom, Tom Bombadillo!"

Rainbow Dash, despite the seriousness of the situation, glanced at Pinkie wryly. "Sounds like one of your types."

"My songs are much better than that," Pinkie commented, not sure whether to be hurt or offended by Rainbow Dash's comment.

The singing ceased for a minute, and then suddenly Frodo came back with the strangest looking man they had ever seen.

Granted, most of them had seen so few men, it was hard to say accurately. But under these circumstances, it was a safe bet.

He wore yellow boots, a bright blue coat, and a huge hat. A long brown beard framed his jolly red face. About a foot higher than Frodo, he was easily too tall to be one of the hobbits, but too short to be a Man, if Gandalf was any indicator of what they were like. He wore a huge smile on his face- an expression that convinced the ponies of Equestria -except for Pinkie- that he was utterly mad; who could possibly be smiling so hard in this entire forest!?

"What's wrong, me lads and lassies?" the strange man asked as he looked at all of them curiously.

"Our friends are stuck in the willow tree," Frodo explained hurriedly as he gestured upward, winded from running in hopes of finding someone that could help them. "We tried getting them out, but nothing is working!"

"In more accurate terms, one of our friends says the tree is threatening to suffocate them if we make a move on it. Meaning we don't know just what to do," Twilight elaborated.

The man simply laughed, showing no measure of concern for what was being said. "That's it? Old Tom knows all the forest's secrets, knows Old Man Willow's secrets. Naught worse than that? We will have them out soon enough my hearties!"

The man walked- or more like danced- over to the tree, and whispered something like a song into the bark. The willow tree shivered, and lowered its branches, setting free Fluttershy, Rarity, Merry, and Pippin.

Needless to say, there was much relief once they were no longer in danger.

"Now how's about mah hat?" she asked as she looked up at the tree with a frown.

The tree responded by flinging her hat into the river.

"Ya ornery varmint," she growled as she ran for the river to retrieve her hat. However she tripped over an upturned willow root in the process and went crashing into the river instead. She emerged a moment later, completely soaked to the bone, her hat limp, and coughing hard. "Ah won't forget tha' no time soon," she muttered angrily as she climbed up onto the bank, and shook herself like a dog.

As soon as everyone was all right, they stood together and surveyed the stranger. All of them -other than Applejack, who was too busy trying to squeeze her hat dry- thanked him for his assistance in the rescue.

The stranger laughed in response. "Anytime, no problem here!" he said in a singsong voice. "Now, you shall come home with me! The table is all laden with yellow cream, honeycomb, and white bread and butter. Goldberry is waiting. Time enough for questions around the supper table. You follow me as quick as you are able!" And with that, he started dancing quickly away.

The others followed him as fast as possible, motivated strongly by the prospect of food. Even though he was only dancing, he was incredibly fast, and it was proving hard to keep up with him, especially with all their heavy bags weighing them down.

All except for Pinkie who was effortlessly keeping pace with him, hopping along and humming a merry tune as if she didn't have a single care in the world.

"Is it just me, or is this guy a bit of lunatic?" Rainbow Dash as they ran after him. Spike nodded quickly.

"He makes about as much sense as Gandalf did before Twilight figured out the translation spell," he stated.

Their group kept running along, desperate not to lose track of the strange individual -and thankful that the forest was no longer opposing them- until finally they emerged from the forest. It was just past sunset, and quickly getting dark. They found themselves on a green plain, with the trees on the edge of the flat land, well kept, and with the grass short and trimmed. They still followed the man along the river, until they came to an equally well-kept house. It was the only building they could see in the area, but the cheery lights streaming out of the windows made them quickly forget about that.

They saw the man standing in the doorway, still singing his own brand of cheerful nonsense. he waved to them, motioning them inside. Once they came to the doorway, slowly, one by one, as if in a dream, they stepped inside.

They all sat down together at a long table, and thanked him repeatedly for his kindness, but he just laughed.

"Not a problem, not a problem, my hearties! Now that we are in my nice, cozy home, we shall say introductions, starting with myself. I am Tom Bombadil, Master of the waters, trees, and air, spouse to fair Goldberry."

"Then you own these lands?" Twilight asked him, wondering if they were going to be facing trouble for trespassing.

Tom shook his head in response. "Oh no! They all own themselves; I am just the master of them. Neither tree nor branch has ever caught Tom! I have no fear of them. Now, who are you, and what are six ponies, four hobbits, and a dragon doing in the forest?"

Frodo spoke. "I am Frodo Baggins. They are Samwise Gamgee, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck," he said, gesturing to each of them in turn.

Twilight then spoke up next. "I am Twilight Sparkle. This is my personal assistant Spike, and my friends are Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash."

"Assistant, eh?" Tom said, glancing at Spike. "I shall find my wife now."

"You need not look," said a voice from atop the staircase of the home. As one, the company looked up and saw a fair-headed maiden dressed in green; she wore a kind smile on her face.

Tom grinned. "There's my pretty Goldberry."

The woman glided down the stairs in a smooth motion. She went into an adjourning room, and soon came out with a large tray laden with food. She put down many plates of bread, butter, and honey, which the company stared at hungrily. When she set down jugs of water, however, Rainbow Dash frowned, but quickly covered it with a smile.

"Hey, Goldberry, you don't happen to have a bit of ale, eh?" she asked. Pinkie looked up eagerly at the question, and even Applejack could not hide her own interest.

The hobbits, too, were keeping their ears open for the answer. But who could really blame them, as hobbits were known for having a fine appreciation for a good drink.

Goldberry smiled politely before responding. "We do not carry ale often in this house."

With that, she finished serving and sat down on the other side of the table across from Tom, and then they all started eating. Rarity and Goldberry merrily chatted with each other, while Tom went about questioning the others.

"So, my hearties, what were all of you doing in the forest? No place for strangers."

Frodo answered for the group. "We are heading to Bree. The roads are... err..."

"Filled with black riders that chill your very bones," finished Pippin.

"We voted on which route to take, and ended up with the Old Forest."

Tom nodded. "That's curious business enough, but just as curious is all of you together! I haven't heard of such wandering bands before. How did you all end up like this?"

While they were now filled with food and greatly comforted, those of Equestria remembered Gandalf's warning and, while it seemed silly in such a cheery setting to heed it, were careful not to reveal their true nature to him. After all, only the wizard, Bilbo, and Frodo knew where they were really from, even though Sam, Merry, and Pippin were certainly suspicious of their claim of just being "friends with Gandalf and Bilbo".

Those three were far craftier than they let on, Twilight was certain of that.

Tom did not seem convinced, but he only nodded, and did not press the issue further. "Gandalf, Gandalf, I know of him- it has been a long time since we've talked. But still," he said suddenly, "what business do you have in Bree?"

Frodo kept it simple. "We are to meet Gandalf there."

"Gandalf!" said Tom again with a laugh. "Gandalf does have his mysteries! But come, come," he said without further explanation of his statement, "dinner is done and we will now tell stories by the fireside! Come along my hearties!"

Rarity went with Goldberry, who she had taken a liking to, to help with the dishes while the others went with Tom to the fireplace.

Tom told several stories about the world, and both the group from the Shire and Equestria learned a great amount of things that night. As they shared stories of their own, Twilight and the others talked about their life in Equestria, and though they never mentioned any names they often said more than they meant to say. It was as if this comfortable home loosened their tongues beyond their complete control. The hobbits also discussed many things concerning the Shire and events there. Frodo said much more than he meant to; he spoke about Bilbo's party, the black riders, and finally he even ended up speaking about the Ring.

Again, Twilight wasn't certain of just what it was, but something about the atmosphere of Tom's home seemed inebriating; much like the ale she'd sampled several days ago, but not nearly as harsh to experience. It was all just... comfortable.

Tom listened to all of their stories with no interruptions. However, as Frodo talked about the One Ring, he suddenly showed a great deal of interest. "Show me this precious Ring!"

To everyone's amazement, even that of Frodo, he didn't even hesitate to take out the Ring, and handed it to Tom.

As Tom was fiddling with it, and pulling it on and off with ease -and much to their amazement, a total lack of turning invisible- Rainbow Dash came out of her dreamy state and watched the Ring intensely. It was her first time really, really seeing the Ring closely, and she suddenly felt a great lust for this precious treasure: greater than any lust she held for anything before. Greater than even her desire to be a Wonderbolt. She knew that she would cherish it beyond all of her other personal things, and that this simple, but beautiful ring would turn all her dreams into reality.

She watched as the Ring went up into the air and nearly panicked with Frodo when it disappeared. Tom laughed and handed it back to the hobbit with a smile. Rainbow Dash quickly turned her head away to hide her expression, but only one thought went through her mind: she must have that ring!

"Take the ring, Rainbow Dash, take it for yourself, you know that you deserve it. You faced the black rider all on your own when the others ran away..."

Yes. That was true. In the face of overwhelming terror, she hadn't hesitated to come to the aid of the others, putting herself in mortal danger of being injured by keeping the rider at bay, and letting them get to the ferry. Who better to have the ring than her?

"Take the ring from Frodo. He and the others will just squander it. Or worse, destroy its wonder. You can't allow that to happen..."

No. No she couldn't let that happen. It would be a travesty if something like that were to come to pass. She had to prevent that from happening. She had to preserve the ring, and what it could do for them. For her...

"That's it. The power of the ring shouldn't be squandered. So what if it belonged to Sauron in the past? He's not around anymore, no matter what Gandalf might say. Take the ring, use it as you see fit. If you had it in your possession, you'd be guaranteed to become captain of the Wonderbolts for sure..."

That had been the thought that caused her to put an immediate halt to that particular train of thought. She couldn't explain what had snapped her out of it, all she knew was that she had. It was almost like immediately bolting awake from a bad dream.

She was now starting to understand just why the ring was such a terrible item that couldn't be kept around. It was capable of horrible influence, and had nearly convinced her to beat the manure out of Frodo to take the ring for herself. Her, the former holder of the Element of Loyalty. That was totally unacceptable.

They needed to get rid of that wretched ring. One way or another...
> The Prancing Pony
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Prancing Pony


The company stayed two days with Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, mostly out of his insistence that they do so. But finally the day came when they had to leave, and set out on their journey again, as they had an appointment to keep.

Tom was kind enough to let the group borrow the four ponies and four horses he had in his care, although Twilight had seen no evidence of other equines being present during their stay, and couldn't help but wonder where he'd procured them. As she understood it, the ponies were for carrying the four hobbits, and the horses for their heavy packs, much to the relief of the group.

Out of the group, Merry and Pippin were the ones that didn't really know how to ride a pony, but it was easy enough with Tom Bombadil's provided steeds. They were slow, and obeyed Tom's orders in a way that allowed for quick and effective learning.

They still had their packs from the Shire filled with food and necessities, and Tom was kind enough to provide the group with some extra food to add to their packs, though he would only laugh when they asked why he had so much food in his house, that could be so freely given away. And getting anything like a straight answer out of him didn't look like it was going to be all that simple.

As they stood outside his home, thanking the couple many times, Tom Bombadil gave them one last bit of advice before they set out on their journey again.

"Now, you need to stay away from the hills; barrow-wights live within them. Horrible creatures they are, not worth dealing with. When you reach the road, send the horses and ponies loose. They might not have the same intelligence as you, but they'll know how to find me nonetheless. You must be at the road by sundown; you do not want to be in the Barrow-downs at nightfall, not at all! It is very foggy and this is when the barrow-wights come out. When you reach Bree, do as the wizard told you; you should be safe at The Prancing Pony. Butterbur is a respectable man, means well. Be careful, and farewell! May we meet again!"

With that, Tom turned around, singing to himself, and waved one last farewell. The rest waved to him in turn, and the group trotted away.



The rest of the day passed with little event. The group stopped once at noon for a quick lunch -much to the chagrin of Merry and Pippin- but soon started again. The hobbits had more or less fallen asleep on their lent mounts for a time, but the others woke them with little trouble.

After several more hours of traveling, the group finally reached the road at sundown. They took all of their packs from the horses, and while the Equestrians were especially reluctant to part with the loans, eventually sent them home to their master.

"They would likely run away if we tried to take them any further as is," Applejack muttered as she watched the steeds trot off to the south, back the direction they had come.

Twilight sighed as she felt the familiar heavy weight of her pack on her back. "From here on out, we should probably make use of the cloaks. We still need to avoid drawing too much attention to ourselves. And based on our former traveling companions, ponies are supposed to be far more earth tone than any of us could manage."

There was little discussion as each of them retrieved the cloaks borrowed from Bilbo's home, and slipped them on. To them there was no real visible difference. To the hobbits -and by extension anyone else who might see them- they looked like a group of seven nondescript hobbits, who couldn't visually raise suspicion if they tried.

In other words, perfect for what they needed.

"I wonder how Bree is like..." Sam wondered partially to himself, partially to the others.

"There are hobbits there, and there are Big Folk," Merry replied. "Some of my folk, hobbits of Buckland, ride out here every now and then. It's supposedly a respectable place."

"As respectable as it is, remember that this is not the Shire, and do remember to not call me Baggins. If any name shall be given, I will go by Underhill," Frodo said sternly. "You remember what Gandalf said: they are looking for a Baggins."

The others nodded solemnly at his words, and with that started walking up the road to the town of Bree.

And then it had started to rain...



"These unpaved roads are absolutely horrible," Rarity muttered to herself, her hooves covered in mud by this point.

"No worse than they are back home," Applejack replied. This wasn't the first time she'd gotten her hooves caked in mud, and it wouldn't be the last time either.

It was about half an hour after sundown they came to a large gate; large enough that trying to go around would be quite difficult. Rainbow Dash tried to push the large wooden gate open, but it wouldn't budge for anything.

Twilight went up and knocked on the door in the gate.

Soon an old man looked through a small opening in the door, and when he saw a rather attractive hobbit woman's face swiftly opened it. It was obviously the gatekeeper, though he frowned when he saw that it was not only a hobbit woman, but a whole band of strangers.

"What do you want?" he asked them gruffly.

"We are heading for The Prancing Pony," Frodo replied.

He looked at all of them, eyeing them suspiciously. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes in response to his gaze lingering on her longer than she cared for.

Finally he responded. "Hobbits? What business do all of you have in Bree? Are you together?"

"Yes, we are together," said Twilight shortly, wrapping her cloak closely around her body to help keep the rain at bay as best she could.

"And our business is our own," Frodo added.

He glanced warily at all of them once more, his eyes this time staying longest on Rainbow Dash. At last the gatekeeper muttered as he opened the gate.

"All right, all right, come on in. You all are the strangest folk I've seen in Bree of late, and that's saying something. Too many queer folk around, that's for sure." He stepped aside and the group quickly went through. He pointed out the route to The Prancing Pony, and they made their way as swiftly as possible.

"Are you sure these cloaks are working? He kept staring at us," Rarity pointed out.

"I'm as sure as I can be. Like I said, it's a powerful illusion spell. It doesn't simply present what someone should see, it overwrites whatever they might see, with what they're supposed to see. All they should see are seven nondescript hobbits that could look like anyone at all," Twilight explained.

"So that's why you're looking so familiar," Merry quipped.

The gatekeeper's directions, though vague, proved to be enough for them to find the inn in a short amount of time. While the rain had slowed down to a drizzle, it was still very damp and chilly out, so they hurried on inside. The sole exception being Rarity, who had the courtesy to wipe her hooves off before entering with the rest of them.

It was warm and stuffy in the inn. They could hear numerous voices chatting, singing, and laughing, they together with the clanging of mugs and silverware creating a strange, chaotic sort of harmony. They went up to the front counter and waited for someone to come to attend them. Applejack leaned casually against it, glancing at Rainbow Dash as her friend caught a glimpse at the amount of alcohol the establishment held.

"Good, some real drink!" Rainbow Dash said with a grin.

When they were not attended to right away, Twilight called out to get them some service. "Excuse me," she said to a man behind the counter.

A plump man, nearly bald, and very red in the face, answered the call. He looked at them with unmasked interest.

"Good evening masters and ladies, what may I do for all of you? If you are seeking some lodgings, we have plenty hobbit-sized rooms available, and two other rooms for you ladies. You are quite fortunate; you have the last rooms available! It is quite crowded tonight. We have some Southerns that came up the Greenway a couple of hours ago, and some Dwarves heading west. But you are the queerest group I have seen so far, begging your pardon. We usually do not get folk from the Shire here in Bree, and them traveling in large groups is unheard of, begging your pardon. I am Barliman Butterbur by the way, owner of The Prancing Pony."

He said all of that very fast, almost in one breath. He ran off to get a drink for someone, but was soon back.

"What may your names be, masters?" he asked them.

Frodo spoke first. "This is Samwise Gamgee, Meriadoc Brandybuck, and Peregrin Took. I am simply Underhill."

"My name is Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Spike, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity."

Butterbur raised his eyebrows. "Well then, we still have only two rooms available, but you ladies can decide on the arrangements. We have plenty of beds, mind you." He looked over his shoulder. "Nob! Bob! Come here!"

Two cheery-looking Hobbits came over to Butterbur. They looked at the strangers with open curiosity.

"Nob, take the masters to one of the ground floor rooms. Bob, you take the ladies to the extra rooms. Don't forget their baggage!"

They each led one of the groups to their rooms. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie decided to bunk together, leaving Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity with the smaller room. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie were shown their rooms first, and then Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rarity were dropped off to a room right down the hall.

After Bob bowed and closed the door, Rarity sighed and slouched. She shrugged off her dripping cloak, dropping her hobbit disguise in the process, and threw it over a chair before collapsing onto the small bed. "This is the last thing I thought could ever happen to us. And to think we were all home but a mere three weeks ago."

Twilight took off her own soaked cloak, before igniting a fire in the fireplace to expedite them drying. "It's alright, Rarity. We'll find our way home soon enough, I'm sure of it. There's always the possibility that Princess Celestia has found her way here by now, and is following the notes we've left her. For all we know, she's on her way here."

Rarity nodded and yawned, and Twilight gave her a small smile. "You and Fluttershy should rest. It certainly has been a wearisome trip. I'm going to see the others, and make sure they stay out of trouble; I imagine they will be heading down to the common-room soon enough to enjoy the inn's ale."

Rarity nodded once more as she laid her head on the pillow, already fast asleep. Fluttershy soon followed, joining Rarity on the bed. Twilight smiled at the scene and left the room, her cloak being wrapped around her neck, despite it not having nearly enough time to dry. The only upside was the fact that Bilbo had a fine taste in quality, and whatever method this world had of making their textiles water resistant, was working quite well.

She went over to her friends' room and knocked on their door. No answer. She knocked again, this time louder. No answer again. She slowly opened the door and looked inside. There were four beds inside, two chairs, and a table; and much as she suspected, it was empty. Letting out a heavy sigh, Twilight closed the door, and headed to the parlor.

When Twilight arrived, she frowned. Just as she had suspected, the others were already at the ale like a mess of alcoholics, and had not even bothered to wait for her. Her want to sample the drink, and compare it to what she'd sampled at the Shire, however, was stayed when she saw Frodo and noticed that the hobbit's hands were on his temple. The hobbit disguised Alicorn walked over, and sat down beside him, the bench proving no challenge for her.

"What's wrong, Frodo?" she asked concernedly. "Are you ill?"

Frodo shook his head and replied, "I expected Gandalf to be here, but he is not. Now where do I go?"

Twilight nodded sympathetically, but was unsure of what to say. She had been expecting Princess Celestia by now as well, but so far had sensed nothing. That left the both of them without easy answers.

"Don't worry, we will find the way, even if Gandalf isn't there to guide us," she finally replied, whispering it to him. Frodo shot her a small smile in response.

"Thank you."

Sam whispered something in Frodo's ear, but Twilight couldn't make it out. She saw Frodo casually glance at Pinkie Pie, who was on her fifth mug of ale, Rainbow Dash, who was sitting down on the bench racing her, and Applejack, who was counting the cups, and giving all the strangers around them an unfriendly glare if they looked at her and her friends in any way that didn't meet her approval.

Frodo looked over all the cheery people in the room, and Twilight watched him stop and stare at something. She turned her head to see what it was.

There was a man sitting in a shadowed corner of the parlor. He was hooded and cloaked, and Twilight could only make out his long legs, his boots heavily caked in dirt and grime, and a pipe that he was smoking. One look and Twilight did not trust him at all.

Frodo stopped Butterbur as he passed by. "Excuse me, but... that man in the corner, who is he?"

Butterbur looked to the corner and quickly turned back at them. He lowered his voice to a whisper as he addressed the group.

"He's one of them Rangers. They're dangerous folk, they are, wandering the Wilds. What his right name is I've never heard, but around here, he's known as Strider." With that, Butterbur walked away.

Suddenly the three of them heard clapping and cheering, and as one, they turned to see Pinkie with a big smile on her face. Rainbow Dash, apparently, had admitted defeat in their drinking competition. She was currently leaning against her chair, her face completely flushed. Pippin and Spike were making their way towards the table, but Merry was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Merry?" Twilight asked Frodo.

"He stayed inside the room, and said he was going to go for a walk afterwards if the rain stopped," Frodo responded.

"It lessened up some time ago, so he may already be gone."

Their attention quickly turned back to the scene on the other side of the common-room, as Pippin and Spike approached Pinkie.

"Having fun, Pinkie?" Spike asked.

"You know it!" Pinkie replied, before downing another tankard without a second thought.

"You didn't wait for me, you ass!" Pippin said, but in a good-natured tone nonetheless. "I was going to be merciful before, but now I shall beat you in our game completely! How many did she have, Applejack?"

"Nine," she said as she drank from her own tankard.

"Nine!" Pippin scoffed. "A lad half my age could do nine easy." He called out for some more ale, and people gladly passed over several mugs, eager to see if the small hobbit could reach Pinkie's number. As he downed them without hesitation, Pinkie started humming a tune. Once Rainbow Dash heard Pinkie, she started to hum along.

"Oh no..." Twilight groaned. As much as she liked Pinkie's singing ability, she was really off-key this time around as she was getting warmed up. And she herself was nowhere near drunk enough to appreciate it. Quickly, she signaled for an ale of her own, figuring that it couldn't hurt in this case. Frodo looked faintly amused, while Sam was caught in between laughter, and utter bemusement.

"Oh, a song?" Pippin slurred after his sixth drink. "I do love a good song!"

"Sorry ta disappoint ya then," Applejack mumbled.

"Then come up and sing with me!" Pinkie said suddenly. She stood and climbed up upon the table, pulling Pippin along with her. The Men, hobbits, and dwarves gathered within the common-room all loved a good song, and so they clapped and cheered for the two. A couple men shoved mugs of ale into their hands to encourage them. All the while, Rainbow Dash still hummed along.


My name is Pinkie Pie
and I am here to say
I'm gonna make you smile
and I will brighten up your day

It doesn't matter now
if you are sad or blue
'cause cheering up my friends is just
what Pinkie's here to do

'Cause I love to make you smile, smile, smile
it fills my heart with sunshine all the while
'cause all I really need's a smile, smile, smile
from these happy friends of mine

I like to see you grin
I love to see you beam
the corners of your mouth turned up
is always Pinkie's dream

But if you're kind of worried
and your face has made a frown
I'll work real hard and do my best
to turn that sad frown upside down

'Cause I love to make you grin, grin, grin
busted out from ear to ear, let it begin
just give me a joyful grin, grin, grin
and you fill me with good cheer

It's true, some days are dark and lonely
and maybe you feel sad
but Pinkie will be there to show you that it isn't that bad

There's one thing that makes me happy
and makes my whole life worthwhile
and that's when I talk to my friends and get them to smile

I really am so happy
your smile fills me with glee
I give a smile, I get a smile
and that's so special to me

'Cause I love to see you beam, beam, beam
tell me, what more can I say to make you see that I do?
it makes me happy when you beam, beam, beam
yes, it always makes my day

Come on everypony smile, smile, smile!
fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
all I really need's a smile, smile, smile
from these happy friends of mine!

Come on everypony smile, smile, smile!
fill my heart up with sunshine, sunshine
all I really need's a smile, smile, smile
from these happy friends of mine!

Yes a perfect gift for me
is a smile as wide as a mile
to make me happy as can be
smile, smile, smile, smile, smile!

Come on and smile!
come on and smile!


Once Pinkie had finished, she bowed and the whole tavern clapped for her. Pippin jumped off the table and swayed to the bar to have some more ale.

Rainbow Dash also jumped off the table with Pinkie and swayed over to Twilight. "Didja like it, huh, didja?" she asked as she drank her ale.

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile, stood up, and easily grabbed the tankard and took a careful swig of it. "The first inn we have come across on this trip, and you girls start without me." She turned to Frodo and Sam. "If you'll excuse me, I'll be taking Rainbow back up to her room before she completely passes out." With that, she firmly grabbed the mare by her foreleg. and started to lead her to the stairs. She was nearly there when Pippin's high voice rang out through the room.

"Baggins? Sure I know a Baggins! He's over there, Frodo Baggins! He's my second cousin, once removed on his mother's side, and my fourth cousin, twice removed..."

Twilight let go of Rainbow Dash suddenly as she watched Frodo run over to Pippin, trip, and fall to the ground. She saw a glint of gold in the air and a sudden temptation washed over her: it was the Ring. She shook herself out of her strange thoughts as Frodo suddenly disappeared. Everyone nearby gasped and started speaking to one another in hushed tones, glancing at all of Frodo's companions with open suspicion. The whispers grew louder, until the common-room was screaming with protests, demanding the barkeeper to come and explain what had just happened.

Rainbow Dash sat down on a nearby chair, looking quite content. Her eyes remained at the spot where Frodo had disappeared, the look in her gaze odd and unnatural. Twilight, not paying attention to her, pulled her up and went over to Pinkie and Applejack. Rainbow Dash plopped down next to Applejack while Sam, Spike, and Pippin came and joined them.

"What's all this?" Rainbow Dash asked with a wave of her hoof. Pinkie, who was not quite as red before, and looked a bit steadier than Rainbow Dash, glanced around nervously.

"I think it was, well, you know, it," Pinkie said under her breath. "Like Frodo's uncle at the birthday party." Rainbow Dash nodded in realization and sat back in her chair, appearing undaunted with the whole situation.

Applejack looked grim as she glanced around the common-room and her companions. Twilight spoke in hushed whispers with Spike, Sam, and Pippin, while Pinkie and Rainbow Dash talked amongst themselves. As Butterbur came into the room, demanding to know what was going on, she looked past him and saw a tall, hooded man pushing Frodo up the stairs. Eyes widening, she grabbed Twilight's foreleg, and interrupted her conversation.

"Frodo's bein' taken upstairs by some shady-looking fellow. Ah'm goin' after 'em." With that, she stood and quickly pushed her way through the bodies in the room. "Move it would ya? Go on an' get!"

Twilight frowned and turned to the dark corner where Strider sat, and saw he wasn't there anymore. While she didn't see the man taking Frodo, she was sure that the Ranger was behind it. Glancing back to Spike and the hobbits, she saw that they, too, were ready to dart after Applejack. "Wait," she said quickly. "I think the man who took Frodo was Strider, and Butterbur was wary of him. Be careful and watch Applejack's back. I'll take care of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie, and join you soon. There is only one way out of this inn, so he can't take Frodo away from us without us catching him in the process."

Spike and the hobbits nodded, and Pippin took a heavy iron candelabra, while Sam took a stool. Spike looked around for something he could bring with him, before opting to simply tag along as is, and rely on his dragon nature if need be. They quickly rushed after Applejack.

Twilight sighed, glanced at Butterbur who was currently trying to calm down his patrons, and then back to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. "We need to get out of here," she said to them. "And you two need to sober up."

"Eh," Pinkie said, "the ale has a wonderful rush, but it don't last too long."

"I'm sure," Twilight said with a disbelieving look. "C'mon." With that, she pulled her two friends up and led them to the front door of The Prancing Pony. With none too light a shove, she pushed them outside. "If anyone comes running outside with Frodo, stop him. I don't care how you do it, sit on them if necessary. And keep an eye out for Merry; he likely went out for a walk earlier." With that, she shut the door.

Rainbow Dash sat down on the step, a relaxed smile on her face. Pinkie Pie shot her a strange look.

"I may not be seeing straight quite yet, but I don't see what you're smiling about. We were given watch duty! You let Twilight give you boring, sitting in one place, watch duty!"

"That's what she thinks," Rainbow Dash said, leaning back against the wall. "Now, what are they doing inside, Pinkie?"

"Applejack said something about Frodo being taken by some man."

"Exactly." The smug expression on Rainbow Dash's face grew smugger. "They're going about facing this Strider guy while we wait here at the only entrance and exit of the inn if he decides to run away. Besides, it was getting a bit warm in there."

"Ah!" Realization came to Pinkie quickly and she giggled. "Still, we're looking out for Merry."

"Much less fun than trying to deal with some hobbit-snatcher."

"True."

"Though you were sadly right about the drink. That ale has a great rush, but it goes away too fast. I miss Applejack's apple cider."

"Yeah," Pinkie agreed. "You sober then, Rainbow?"

"Eh. Somewhere. Not as drunk as Twilight thinks I am, that's fer sure."

"You're still slurring."

"Just as much as you are, Pinkie."

"I suppose so." Pinkie sighed, looking down the road. "Now what do we do?"

"Sit, relax, and let the others be the heroes for today. Now let's keep an eye out for Merry." She and Pinkie scanned the area, eyes vigilant for either Strider or Merry.



Applejack rushed up the stairs, checking every room quickly, but shutting the doors quietly, wishing to go for a more stealthy approach. She hoped that the man did not lock the door behind him; that would make things more difficult than necessary.

Of course she could just buck open the door, but she didn't really want to damage Butterbur's property if it could be avoided.

At the end of the hall in the room that Nob had pointed out as a private parlor, she heard voices coming through the door. When she heard Frodo's voice, she removed her cloak, not caring if this man saw her true form, so long as she was able to buck him from here to the Shire. Beyond that, the heavy thing would just inhibit her free movement.

She forcefully shoved the door open, and came face to face with a tall, dark-haired man who had his gleaming sword pointed towards her. He seemed slightly startled by her appearance, but quickly masked his expression. She glanced behind him and saw Frodo; to her relief, he looked unharmed.

"You give him back, ya lousy varmint," she muttered darkly. "Ya won' be leavin' this inn with him. An' if ya try, Ah'll be makin' leave through the window."

"I had no intentions of doing such a thing," the man said, slightly lowering his sword as he studied her. However, he raised it again when more footsteps came pounding down the hallway. Applejack quickly glanced down the hall as well, not keeping her eyes long from the stranger. She was relieved to see it was only Spike, Sam, and Pippin, though she was slightly amused to see their selection of weapons.

"Afraid that won't help here much," she said in greeting. Spike and the hobbits' eyes widened at the sight of the sword, realizing that they were outclassed.

"You let him go, Strider!" Sam said angrily, despite having little that could compete with tempered steel. Frodo was silent, still in the corner of the room, and looking at the scene as if he was not quite sure what to make of it.

"So I am called here," he said, lowering his sword again, and stepping back when he saw it was only the hobbits. "Nonetheless, just as I said to the... lady, I have no intentions of taking Master Baggins anywhere without his consent." He stepped back again, lowered his sword to the ground, and looked back at Frodo. "I took you out of the common-room for your own well-being, Master Baggins. You may have not seen it yourself, but there were men in that room that were also looking for you; men that would not be so kind as to simply haul you away from the common-room." Glancing once more at Applejack, he sheathed his sword and sat down, looking the most at ease out of all the people in the room.

Sam put the stool down and hurried over to Frodo, checking for himself to see if he was all right.

"I'm fine, Sam," Frodo said, giving him one brief smile before turning to Strider. "The innkeeper warned me about you, and you have not shown me any reason why I should trust you."

"Good," Strider remarked, surprising everyone else by his reply. "You have been far too careless- you and your companion's antics have drawn far too much attention." Pippin suddenly turned away, guilt evident on his features. No one, however, said anything. Applejack finally started to lower her battle stance, not convinced of his innocence, but a bit more confident that he would not attack them when outnumbered as such. She immediately raised it again, however, when hoofsteps pounded up the stairs and a door opened simultaneously. Strider, too, stood up, his hand on the hilt of his blade.

It was Twilight who came up the stairs, dropping her cloak as she moved, and Rarity who opened the door from their room. "What is going on?" she asked Twilight as she passed. She and Fluttershy followed her glance to the end of the hall, and when they saw Applejack with her cloak off and in a tense stance, they immediately came out of their own room and followed.

"So it is you, Strider," Twilight said contemptuously when she came to the parlor, her horn glowing in preparation of an offensive spell. When Strider saw it was one of the hobbit's companions, he relaxed and sat down once more.

"It is I," he replied, "and before you attempt to kill me out of hasty judgement, I would have you listen to my words."

"Hasty judgment?" Twilight scowled. "It's hardly hasty judgement, going after a friend who has been taken by some scoundrel!"

"Scoundrel?" Strider laughed quietly. "Perhaps, but as I said to Master Baggins, I mean him no harm. The common-room was dangerous after-" He stopped suddenly, glancing at the open door with suspicion. Ignoring the other eight, he stood, looked outside, and closed the door quietly. "It was dangerous after Frodo revealed the thing he carries."

Applejack's scowl deepened and she was readying her fighting stance once more. The light on Twilight's horn grew brighter, Rarity's horn started to glow as well, and Fluttershy glanced worriedly at Frodo. "What happened down there?" she asked, glancing between the hobbit and the strange Strider.

"An accident," Frodo said, his eyes still on Strider's lank form. "And you claim that you acted as you did for my own well being?"

Strider nodded. "You are not the only strangers Bree has seen lately. You and your companions did not notice it, but there were men not assaulting Old Butterbur with complaints, but rather had their eyes peeled for you. The old gatekeeper, and a few men of the company from the south, as well as that crook Bill Ferny, they all were spread about. You had already disappeared, so it wouldn't be too difficult for you to disappear completely from the inn now, would it?"

Frodo fell silent and Pippin looked particularly ill. Sam, however, was not convinced. "And you say that you're not a friend of those brigands! Why should we believe you?"

"It's quite simple," Strider replied calmly. "I was alone with Master Baggins for a good minute, if not more. It would have been easy enough for me to take it and disappear entirely. If I had wanted to do so, we would not be having this conversation, now would we?" Sam paled at the blunt statement, but still looked uncertain.

"Still, what's his business to you?" Spike asked. "Who are you?"

"His business means a good deal to me," Strider replied. "And I am here at the request of Gandalf."

"Gandalf!" Frodo exclaimed in surprise. "You know him?"

"As well as anyone can know a wizard," Strider said with a queer smile. "But yes, I do. I spoke with him a couple weeks ago before he rode down South. He told me to come up here, and watch the road for a Frodo Baggins, and for any companions he may have with him. I did not realize it would be so many... and ponies too," he said, glancing at the others. "He told me that if he was not in Bree by the time they arrived, something had delayed him, and that it would be up to me to lead them the rest of the way."

"To where?" asked Frodo.

"Rivendell."

"Rivendell!" Frodo said, slightly dismayed. "It is a long way to Rivendell."

"So it is," said Strider. "But you cannot stay here in Bree. These men in the common-room were mere brigands. You are being hunted by something much more dangerous."

"The black riders," Twilight spoke. Her horn losing it's glow slowly. Strider nodded, and was about to explain further, but heavy footsteps suddenly pounded up the stairs and down the hall. They heard a door thrown open and a voice curse loudly.

"In the name of Celestia! Where are those girls?"

"Rainbow!" Applejack threw the door open and raced down the hallway. She quickly came back. "Come quickly!" she shouted at them through the doorway, and then hurried back down the hall, the others following. They entered the room, and on one of the beds lay Merry.

"Merry!" Pippin cried and quickly ran to the bed. Merry was awake, but very pale, and out of breath. "What happened, Merry?"

"He was attacked," Pinkie answered grimly. "One of those hobbits who works for the inn was out on an errand, and found Merry on the ground with a hooded figure above him."

"I was just strolling outside, just as I said I would," Merry explained weakly. "I saw this cloaked figure, and, well, I was almost drawn to it, it seems. I followed him, and then suddenly I found myself on the ground with Nob shaking me awake. He told me that the cloaked man was over my body, but his shout of alarm had scared it away."

"When Nob brought him back, he looked like he could barely walk, so Dashie and I took him up here," Pinkie finished.

Rainbow Dash, in the meanwhile, was looking at Strider with a raised brow. "Who're you?" she asked.

"A friend of Gandalf's," Frodo said. Some of the others who were in the room during Strider's explanation of himself looked uncertain at the proclamation, but no one went against his word. "Do you think it was one of the black riders, Merry?"

"It might've been, I think so," he said with a shudder. "I guess I'm lucky, then."

"More than lucky," Strider muttered, looking at the hobbit with an unreadable expression. "It is a surprise that the rider did not kill you and Nob right there and then; very surprising." He fell silent as he mulled this fact over. "They are using stealth for a reason, and whatever reason that is, I doubt bodes well for your company."

"Do you think they may attack the inn?" Fluttershy asked.

"Perhaps," Strider said. "Nonetheless, I do not recommend the hobbits staying in their rooms tonight; even if the black riders do not attack the inn, the brigands are still about, and I do not know how bold they are."

Twilight nodded. "We should all stay together, just in case; we don't want to be separated from one another."

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said, a glint in her eye. "But if these brigands want battle, we'll be prepared to meet it."



In the end, it was decided that everyone would bunk in the room they were currently in. While Butterbur did not look happy that Strider was with them, and tried to talk Frodo out of associating with him, he finally relented and, with Strider's help, Nob and Bob helped bring Spike and the hobbit's luggage upstairs. Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy quickly retrieved their own luggage from the other room, before joining their companions.

It was like one big slumber party. Only without the aspect of it being fun.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike, realizing that Strider knew of their true appearances, dropped their hobbit disguises once they were all shut in for the night, unencumbering themselves of their heavy cloaks. Although Strider's eyes still widened a little when he saw that Spike is a dragon. But the surprise soon passed, chalking it up as simply being another aspect of Gandalf's friends.

While Strider was gone, the others explained briefly to Merry, Pinkie, and Rainbow Dash Strider's story. They all looked unconvinced, and even as Frodo repeated it, Sam was scowling.

"How can you be so sure?" Applejack asked him. "He could be anyone. Ah still don' trust 'im much."

Frodo was silent as he looked for the right words to explain to his companions what he saw in Strider. At last he settled on what that would be. "He scared me quite a bit, but I believe him. I think a servant of the Enemy would look fairer and feel fouler, if you understand me."

"Oh, he's foul enough," Sam muttered.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "I don't like him, but we do have the numbers if he decides to do something stupid. And, of course, we have Twilight and Rarity's magic if it comes down to it."

"Nonetheless," Frodo started, getting the conversation back on track, "I do agree with him on one point- we cannot wait here for Gandalf, not with brigands and black riders roaming about. Rivendell is the safest place to go, and he claims to know the way."

"And so I do," Strider said suddenly as he pushed the door open, bringing up the last of the baggage. He put it on the floor, before sitting himself on a wooden chair near the window. "Rivendell is a long way from Bree, and the roads will be watched closely. We will take ways that will be unseen by enemy eyes. Your rooms are now empty, and your beds have been stuffed with pillows, and other such things to form your bodies. Butterbur knows that something may happen, as he is on the lookout tonight. Still," he turned to Frodo, "you and your companions should try and sleep. If you plan on having Strider be your guide, we will need to leave early, before the rest of Bree awakens." He then turned to the window and kept his eyes on the road outside.

Rarity and Fluttershy shared one bed together. Spike and the four hobbits slept surprisingly well on another. Rainbow Dash and Twilight slept on the third bed, and Pinkie took the last bed. They could've easily split the third bed, but Pinkie had opted to give Twilight plenty of room, so as to not risk hurting her wing any further.

Applejack pulled up the remaining chair in the room and set it by the door, wedging it under the knob.

"Just in case, of course," she said with a toothy smile to Strider. Strider said nothing and went back to staring out the window.

Applejack made herself comfortable, her hat resting over her eyes and keeping an eye on Strider just in case he proved to be something other than what he claimed to be.



Hours later, as best anyone could tell, shrieks came from downstairs and the hallway. Strider remained sitting, his eyes hard as he stared outside. Applejack, who was pretending to sleep -so well that she just about really was- suddenly jumped up and pointed her tensed body at the door, ready to charge at anything that might come smashing through it.

The rest of them woke with a start, and stared between Strider and Applejack.

"What was that?" Twilight said as she fumbled in the darkness of the room.

"Sounded like a black rider ta me," Applejack said, her eyes still pointed at the door.

Frodo rolled out of bed and peered cautiously out the window. He saw five Black Riders outside of the inn; they quickly mounted their horses, and rode off screeching

"What are they?" he asked Strider

He was silent for a moment, but quietly replied, "They were once Men."

"Once Men? What's that supposed to mean?" Rainbow Dash asked suspiciously. Strider glanced at her before continuing.

"They were once great kings of Men. Then Sauron the Deceiver gave to them nine Rings of Power. Blinded by their greed, they took them without question, one by one, falling into darkness. Now they are slaves to his will."

"Sauron is that evil maniac Gandalf told us about, right?" Spike whispered to Fluttershy.

"I think so; I think he made the ring that Frodo carries," she whispered back.

Strider, with his acute hearing, heard their whispers easily. "Indeed he did," Strider confirmed. "He is the Dark Lord who nearly had the world under his domain, until he was defeated by the Last Alliance. But now he sends his darkest servants to find that which he desire most." He looked out of the window once again. "They are the Nazgul -Ringwraiths- neither living nor dead. At all times they feel the presence of the Ring, drawn to the power of the One." He gave them all a keen glance, his eyes finally settling on Frodo. "They will never stop hunting you."

"Neither living nor dead?" Rainbow Dash in both shock and disbelief. Quickly she turned to Twilight. "How do we stop something like that?"

"I don't know," Twilight replied, shaking her head. She simply had no answers this time around. "I don't know..."



The next morning, those who were able to fall back asleep woke up an hour before sunrise. As it was, most had merely brooded in their own thoughts until the hour; Strider had not even attempted to rest. They had a very quick breakfast, and after some discussion, the company decided to follow Frodo, who was set on following Strider.

Butterbur had thought them fools, but he sold them a pony for the journey for a very good price, and had Bob help them load the beast with some of their possessions. Sam had all but fell in love with the creature right away, and decided to name him Bill. Fluttershy, too, liked Bill.

Along with the pony, Butterbur also sold them more provisions. Finally at sunrise, just as the rest of Bree was beginning to wake up, the twelve companions left Bree, and started heading east towards Rivendell, following this strange Strider and relying only on his word -and Frodo's belief- that he would do no evil to them.
> Weathertop
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Weathertop


After leaving Bree far behind -and after leaving yet another message burned into the ground, detailing in the Equestrian dialect where they were heading- the company quickly left the road, and now relied completely on Strider to lead them safely through the Wild. No one, not even Frodo, trusted him completely, and most of the others trusted him much less. But at the moment he was the surest thing they had going for them. Plus he apparently knew Gandalf, so that was of some small comfort.

At lunch -if it could truly be called that- Strider allowed them a small break, but afterwards they traveled on without stop. And eating while on the run -quite literally in this case- was not fun.

By the time the sun was setting, everyone but Strider was feeling the strain of the quick pace he set for them. Twilight and Spike were half-supporting Rarity, who was quite grateful for their efforts, despite trying her best to rely on her own strength so as to not be a burden. Pinkie was mumbling nonsense to herself, Rainbow Dash sweated heavily from working both her wings and leg muscles, and Fluttershy was having a very intelligent conversation with Bill the pony, once she figured out how to communicate with him. Applejack was walking at the rear of the group with the hobbits, who stayed as far from Strider as possible. Both she and Sam were busy shooting uncertain glances at their guide while trying not to fall too far behind.

Finally, sensing their weariness, and no longer able to ignore his own, Strider halted at the borders of the forest. Before them lay a great bog that extended for many, many leagues.

Spike lifted his head and made a face of disgust. "What is that awful stench?" he asked Strider.

"We have just left Chetwood, and approach the Midgewater Marshes," said Strider. "We shall travel through the marshes; though it will not be pleasant."

"That smell is coming from those marshes?" Fluttershy asked, looking east. "I've never seen a real bog before."

"A first time for everything, I suppose," Twilight replied. "Granted, this is not an experience I'm looking forward to."

"Can't we avoid this disgusting marsh, and just go to the road now?" Rarity asked hopefully.

"You may if you wish," Strider replied, "but the wraiths will strike you down if you are in their way. Nonetheless, this is the road that your guide will lead you through." With that, he started down the hill that led to the edge of the marshes.

Rarity whimpered as she looked between the marshes and the way they came, desperately not wanting to go through the bog. But she knew that Strider is right; the black riders would not hesitate to kill her if she is in their way. She let out a small, quiet sob, as she followed Strider and her friends into the bog, wincing with each squelching noise her hooves made, as all sorts of muck clung to her white fur.

"Cheerful fellow," Rainbow Dash commented sarcastically. "An absolute delight to be around."

Applejack shot Rainbow Dash an annoyed look, even though she agreed with her assessment. "Ah don't like how he's treatin' us, as if we're useless. Who died an' made 'im king, anyways?"

Rainbow Dash just shrugged. "Maybe the fact that he's bigger than us. But if Frodo goes with him, then I go with him," she said as she walked up ahead of the group.

Applejack raised a suspicious eyebrow at Rainbow Dash. While her words had that same sense of loyalty that Applejack knew, she couldn't really shake the feeling that there is something more darker laced in those words. But she dismissed it as a result of her fatigue, and followed the rest of the group through the marshes.



For two miserable days, and two equally miserable nights they tread through the putrid, wet marshes. All of them, including Strider, were miserable with the conditions. Any animosity that Frodo's companions felt for Strider grew greater throughout those hours, and dark mutterings spread amongst them, despite Frodo's trust.

Strider did not heed them and their gripes; in fact, most of the time he acted as if his fellow travelers were simply not there.

Their second night in the marshes, as everyone was sleeping after another trying day of plowing through the thick, mucky waters, Fluttershy woke up to a soft singing. She turned her head and saw Strider sitting on a boulder, singing a tune in some strange, but still beautiful language.

"What are you singing about?" she asked him when she could no longer retain her curiosity.

Strider turned quickly towards her, startled by the break in the relative silent. It was the first time she had ever seen him display a genuine response. He was silent for a moment, and at first Fluttershy thought that he would not answer her.

Finally, he responded. "I sing of the Lady Luthien, the elf-maiden who gave her love to Beren, a mortal."

She looked at him quizzically. "An elf-maiden? I don't know what a elf is."

Strider shot her an odd look. "How could you not know what a elf is?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "It is a long story. In any case, who are Luthien and Beren?"

"Luthien is remembered as the fairest elf-maiden ever born. Beren, a mortal, took her heart away," Strider replied, deciding to simply go with it, rather than inquiring further.

"What happened to her?" Fluttershy asked.

"Because of her love with a mortal, she gave up her immortality and died," he replied quietly, a touch of sadness in his voice. She was puzzled by his sorrow, but asked him no more questions that night. She could sense that it was something of a touchy topic with him.



The next morning, their third day in the marshes, they woke with bitter thoughts aimed towards the lands they treaded through, and the man who had the bright idea to lead them there in the first place. Great clouds of flies swarmed all around them, and bit at their flesh without remorse. Merry and Rarity in particular were in a very foul mood.

"What do they eat when they can't get hobbit meat!?" Merry asked bitterly as he swatted some on his skin, only for them to quickly fly off before they were struck.

"Rangers, I would suppose," Rarity muttered under her breath, before flicking her tail in annoyance. Twilight looked at her in surprise, but turned her attention back to her surroundings when she nearly tripped from the distraction.

"We only have half a day until we reach the end of the marshes," Strider called out to them. "Then we will make for Weathertop." He pointed to a lone hill at the end of a chain of mountains in the distance. "Only a bit further."

"I certainly hope so," Rarity mumbled as she walked along. As much as she loved the mud back at the spa, this certainly wasn't anything like it.

At the end of the day, the company finally reached Weathertop. They were all quite thankful to get out of the marshes, and many in the group treated their guide a bit more kindly now that they were out, the overwhelming relief proving to be more than a match for their foul moods.

Strider looked up at the hill thoughtfully. "This was the great watchtower of Amon Sul," he said quietly as if to himself. He then turned to the other. "We shall rest here tonight."

"High ground. Got it. Finally," Rainbow Dash commented. The idea of being up higher appealed to her a great deal now.



They climbed up the path that wound up the hill wearily, and before the sun had fully fallen, found a crevice in the side of the hill large enough to fit all of them. They threw down their packs, and took the baggage off Bill the pony. Spike threw himself down on the ground, panting heavily. The others did the same, thankful for rest.

Strider, tired as he moved, took one of the packs and placed it on the ground before them, and unrolled it, revealing four short, sheathed swords, and one short axe.

"They are for you," he said as one by one, they were each picked up. "You may need them in the days to come."

"I don't know how to use a sword," Merry commented as he eyed his, looking over the nicks in the blade.

"It's not like we do either," Rainbow Dash replied and shrugged. "Where'd you get them anyway? Do all you Rangers just walk around with random weaponry on you, on the off chance Gandalf asks you to help him out with some hobbits?" she asked.

Strider chuckled to himself. "Bree is a well traveled area. They have a trading post where provisions can be acquired for a journey. Some acquire with currency, others through bartering their goods in exchange for others," he explained, before standing back up. "I'm going to have a look around, get a better idea of what our surroundings may hold for us. You stay here."

"I'm going with you," Twilight insisted, stepping up. As much as they wanted to simply rest, she also wanted to know what they might be dealing with. "I don't think it's wise to wander about alone; don't you agree?"

What she left unsaid was that she, along with most of the others, was still unsure of Strider's loyalties, and she for one had no desire to see herself and her friends killed simply because she trusted someone too much.

Strider shot her a look, but did not protest, which was unexpected for Twilight, as she assumed that he would refuse. Thankfully that wasn't the case.

"So..." Applejack spoke up slowly once they were alone again, "anyone know how ta actually use a sword?" she asked.

"Only what I've read in "Daring Do" books," Rainbow Dash commented. And according to A.K. Yearling's testimony the last time they had contact, such displays were meant to be entertaining to the reader, rather than informative.

"I fear I've not had much in the way of practice," Frodo added, "Bilbo never let me touch his."

Spike just sighed to himself. He had been hoping for a sword when he'd seen them, but those had gone to Frodo and the others. Leaving him with just the axe. Better than nothing, but not what he'd been wanting.

"Doesn't it seem kinda irresponsible for Strider to leave us something that we don't know how to use?" Pinkie asked.

"Kinda seems that way ta me," Applejack replied and shrugged. But what could they really do about it now?

"I'm going to rest," Frodo stated to no one in particular, before making his way over away from the others. All the walking the last few days was far more than he was used to.



Strider glanced thoughtfully at old prints with the light of a flickering torch. They had made a fair bit of distance from the watch post without finding anything, before finally coming upon signs that they weren't the only ones who had come through this area.

Twilight honestly could not make out what she was looking at, so she stood back, interested in the process, and trying to learn through observation. Unfortunately she was learning very little, despite her focus, and finally she simply got fed up with the whole silence thing.

"What do you see in those old marks?" she asked, becoming impatient with the man and his constant silence.

"Not much," Strider surprisingly answered. "There were a few people here not a few days ago, but I do not wish to wander too far from Weathertop to see where they went."

Suddenly, piercing shrieks ripped through the night air. They took one look at one another in recognition of what that sound was, and what it meant.

Strider immediately drew out his sword, while Twilight summoned her mana sword; all the while trying to steel her nerves for what she knew was coming.



Frodo, despite his weariness, and the soundness of his sleep, was distracted from his dreams by a smell of smoke- a smell that immediately alarmed him. He quickly sat up and saw most of the others by a small fire, cooking something in a pan. Rarity and Applejack were right behind him, just waking up.

"What are you doing?" he yelled in slight panic.

"Tomatoes," said Pinkie.

"Sausages," said Merry.

"And nice crispy bacon," finished Pippin.

"We saved some for all of you," Sam said to them.

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. "I know we don't usually eat meat, but the bacon is actually pretty tasty. The tomatoes, though, could use some more pepper."

Frodo ran up and started jumping on the small fire, trying to put it out. "Put it out you fools, put it out!"

Rarity and Applejack were up and after Frodo, trying to help extinguish the fire, all the while trying not to stomp on his feet.

"What were you thinking?" Rarity shouted to her friends. "Have you no sense?"

"Oh, that's nice! Ash in my tomatoes!" Merry screamed angrily at Frodo.

"Who in all o' Tartarus is stupid enough to make a gosh darn fire in the middle o' the night when they're being hunted?" Applejack exclaimed to them. She took the pot of water that they collected on their way up the hill, and dumped it onto the fire, getting everyone around it wet in the process as it splashed.

"What is your problem AJ?! Fussing about nothin'!" Rainbow Dash snapped at Applejack.

They immediately stopped bickering when a loud screech pierced the air, practically freezing them in place. Alarmed, as one they all turned to Frodo, knowing that what he carried was the reason their pursuers were here.

"Go!" he screamed, unsheathing his sword. The others did the same and went quickly up the path from the crevice. Bill did not follow them, being too frightened to do so. Soon they found themselves at the summit of Weathertop. They circled themselves around Frodo protectively. The top of the hill was covered in ruins and weathered statues of great people long ago, but the companions did not pay attention to the surroundings. As they stood there, swords drawn, they could feel a foreboding chill quickly fill the air.

They were here...

"This is so bad," Rainbow Dash gulped nervously.

"Ya think?" Applejack asked, annoyed that they wouldn't have been put in this position if the others could do more than just think with their stomachs.

"What're we gonna do?" Pinkie asked as she huddled close to Sam.

"Fight or die," Spike replied as he gripped the shaft of his axe, not knowing what else to say.

And then the hoods of their pursuers came into view, signalling that time was preciously short.

"Looks like we don't have much choice now," Rainbow Dash mumbled to herself, wings tensing up. Fearfully she looked over at Applejack for support. "Double whammy?" she asked, trying to steady her nerves.

"Double whammy," Applejack replied and nodded. If fighting was going to be necessary, then they were gonna have to give it all they had; just like when Chrysalis had invaded Canterlot.

And then the wraiths made it to the top of the lookout, and slowly began to draw their swords.

"This is it. GO!"

Rainbow Dash was off like a shot, slamming her front hooves into the two wraiths on the left -one of them faltering more than the other from the force of the impact- before whirling around hard, and wrapping her forelegs underneath its arms from behind, and pulling as hard as she could, keeping its arms restrained out to the sides.

"AJ!" she called out.

"Right wit' ya, Sugarcube," Applejack replied as she charged over, stopping and turning around a bit, and slamming her hind legs into the wraith's midsection. But these weren't the usual bucks she used for harvesting apples. No, this time around she was putting all of her physical might into them; the same might when she had to bring down an entire tree.

The wraith shrieked in pain from the force of the impact it'd been subjected to, losing its footing in the process, and making it a lot easier for Rainbow Dash to pull it back. She reared up and bucked it again with the same amount of force as before, bringing about another shriek as it struggled to get loose.

"Harder!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she tried to hold onto the wraith, planting her hooves against its back as she pulled on its arms as hard as she could. This thing had way too much fight left in it after getting bucked twice; she felt the impact right through it, and was truly dumbstruck that it was still putting up this much of a struggle. The fact that it hadn't even dropped its sword yet, was amazing in itself.

"Ah'm tryin'!" Applejack yelled back as she bucked the wraith again. "It's like tryin' ta buck solid steel!"

Over with the others, Rarity didn't know just what had happened. The atmosphere of terror that had been all but palpable just a moment ago, was suddenly lessened. It was almost like Rainbow Dash imitating the charge had removed their element of surprise, and left them on uncertain footing instead of the other way around.

Whatever had happened, she was fairly certain that the other wraiths were just as dumbstruck as the one who found itself restrained. But that dumbstruck state seemed to vanish quickly, as the other four turned their attention towards them.

And then she spotted the dropped sword that had clattered to the ground when Rainbow Dash had punched the wraith in the face; which it was in the process of retrieving. That simply wouldn't do.

Quick as a whip, Rarity grabbed the sword in her magic, and pulled it away before its rightful owner could reclaim it. It was an utterly beastly construct, but she was beyond caring about such at this point.

"Let's see how you hooligans fare against someone on more equal footing with you now!" she screamed as she brought the sword to bear. "En garde!"

While Rarity engaged her selected wraith in a duel of swords, sparks flying as blades violently clashed against one another, Pinkie took a decidedly more unorthodox approach to the engagement.

She had tripped her wraith by sweeping its legs out from underneath it, sending it crashing to the ground in the process, before proceeding to jump on its back, slamming all four of her hooves on its back, resulting in a chorus of screams that perfectly matched those of the wraith that Rainbow Dash and Applejack were double teaming.

"I don't believe it! We're being rescued by ponies!" Merry commented as he watched how things had quickly developed. Fear was quickly giving way to utter bewilderment. How had this come about?

"You think this is bad? You should see some of the villains we've faced back in Equestria," Spike commented, feeling a sense of bravado swelling in his chest. "The rest of you, get out of here! We'll keep them at bay!" he stated, before leaping into action, axe at the ready.

Granted, the wraith that he engaged was the one who had been relieved of his sword, but still.

Regardless of the fact that it was neither living nor dead -at least by Strider's assessment- it was certainly doing its best to avoid getting struck by the axe that Spike was swinging.

"I think we might actually survive this," Pippin stated as he surveyed their surroundings, and how things were playing out.

Unfortunately there was still one wraith left. And it was showing a complete lack of concern for its comrades, and was instead fixed on their position.

"Or... maybe not," Merry replied as they were slowly approached. Approached, and left with nowhere to retreat.

"Back, you devil!" Sam yelled, being the first to engage the wraith with his own sword.

That endeavor lasted for several strikes, before he was easily tossed aside like a ragdoll, being slammed against the side of the ruins, and in no hurry to get back up again.

Fluttershy watched as Merry and Pippin didn't fare any better in their efforts. If anything, the both of them fared even worse than Sam had. That left only her standing between the wraith, and Frodo and the ring. She truly, truly didn't want to be here; she wanted to be back home, safe from harm. But she didn't have that option right now. Her friends were in danger all around her, doing their best to keep these monsters at bay. Deep down she knew that she had to do the same.

That left her with only one available option.

She bared her teeth in a sneer as she unleashed the Stare on the remaining wraith, causing it to falter, and stop in its tracks.

For a moment anyway.

The next thing Fluttershy knew, she was being grasped by her neck, and easily lifted right off her hooves, before being thrown headfirst into the stone walls of the ruins, and everything around her went black.

Frodo cried in pure horror at what he'd just seen, dropping his sword as the last wraith focused all of its dark energy upon him. He tried to back up, but tripped instead, and fell down with a thud. He unconsciously took the Ring out of his pocket, all the while he knowing full well that he shouldn't use it, but he simply couldn't help himself. He struggled against the voice that shouted at him to use it, like some rogue thought being remembered, but in the end, he put it on and disappeared from mortal sight.

The next thing he knew, he felt his shoulder being pierced by a sharp dagger, subjecting him to levels of pain that he truly didn't know were even possible.



The fight between the wraiths and the Equestrians was a rather impressive demonstration of combat abilities not being contingent upon the right physical form. Despite the obviously uneven match up of opponents, Rarity, Pinkie, and the others were all holding their own quite respectfully.

But that ability to hold their own was hindered by the presence of a very specific fatal flaw; that being that their success was contingent upon perpetual motion on their part, and the ability to keep moving as they were at present.

It was a fact best exemplified by the wraith Spike fought against, finding an exploitable opening during a moment of over-extension, and taking it by kicking Spike in the stomach with enough force to send him flying backwards.

"Oh no! Spike!"

This in turn served to make Pinkie forget about her own wraith, and leap off its back to make sure Spike was okay. Which in turn allowed the wraith to pick itself up off the ground, albeit with a lump after the beating it had just endured. It ignored Rarity as she parried and thrust against her opponent, to make its way over to its comrade struggling against both Applejack and Rainbow Dash. It took a tight grip on the hilt of its sword, raising it parallel with the ground as it got in close, and trust forward.

"AJ! Duck!"

Which in turn lead to it overextending its thrust, burying the forward portion of the blade into the abdomen of its comrade as Applejack ducked her head down just in time to avoid being skewered itself. That sent the wraith's howling to entirely new levels. And it would've skewered Rainbow Dash as well, if she hadn't disengaged when she had.

"Tha's gonna leave a mark!" Applejack commented as she quickly got out of the way of the two, followed quickly by Rainbow Dash.

"I bet he wishes he was dead now," Rainbow Dash replied.

"I could use a little help, please, if you two don't mind!" Rarity shouted back to them, quickly back stepping as her opponent has quickly gained the upper hand. She'd been keeping it at bay with a series of rapid forward thrusts and parries, pushing forward with the advantage that she didn't have to put herself within striking distance thanks to her magic. but in all the commotion, that advantage had disappeared, and she was now having to defend herself against a vicious onslaught.

And then came a violent yell. But not a yell that any of them could have produced.

Like the main characters in an action novel common to the library back home, both Strider and Twilight came charging over the ruins, and dove right into the action with incredible ferocity. Strider, with sword and torch swinging madly, engaging any wraith that was nearby. Twilight not far behind, her sword forged of pure magic clashing against steel blades, and casting violent sparks as it proved its solidity in actual combat.

They had just reclaimed what had been lost so easily, leaving everyone else stunned at how things had developed.

Frodo reappeared in a corner, popping back into view and screaming in pain, as Strider lit one of the wraiths' robes aflame. The Ringwraith shrieked and ran off the hill, the fire consuming it.

Twilight, taking a cue from what she'd just witnessed, allowed her sword to disintegrate, before turning her magic towards more offensive spells, firing off multiple magic blasts at anything that was black and moved, causing flames to explode upon contact with whatever they touched; including any wraith unfortunate enough to be in her line of sight at the time.

All four of the Ringwraiths ran off the hill, covered in flames, leaving only one left. Strider took aim and quickly threw the torch at its face. The Ringwraith shrieked in anger and pain and ran away with its comrades.

"Nice throw," Spike said approvingly from where he'd been laying, watching despite the amount of pain he'd been in.

Strider did not heed him, but instead ran over to Frodo who was breathing rapidly, his eyes clenched tight in pain, Sam was already with him, holding his hand, and looking quite worriedly at his wound. Rainbow Dash ran over to where Fluttershy lay, while Applejack and Rarity helped Merry and Pippin back up to their feet. Pinkie glanced around, and saw nothing else to keep her interest since Spike appeared to be alright, and headed over to Frodo, Twilight, Spike, Sam, and Strider.

"He's been stabbed by a Morgul-blade," Strider said grimly as he held up a discarded weapon for investigation, the blade dissolving as he spoke, leaving only the hilt.

"What's that?" Sam asked frantically. "Will Mr. Frodo be alright?"

Strider's expression became even grimmer. "A Morgul-blade is no ordinary blade. If not healed he will turn into a wraith himself."

"What!?" Rarity shrieked in horror at what she'd just heard.

"Even as we speak, the shard works its way ever closer to his heart. When it reaches, there will be nothing we can do..." Strider explained.

"Oh no. We're not letting that happen," Twilight stated firmly, "Strider, hold Frodo down, and hold him firmly. That shard is coming out..."

None of them had any idea of what Twilight was talking about, or what was going to happen. But despite having no certainty of what was being said, did as instructed, and pinned Frodo to the floor of the watch tower.

Twilight's horn glowed, as did the damage to Frodo's shirt, before it was torn open wider to expose the sight of the injury.

"I won't lie. This is going to hurt. Keep him steady," she instructed, before beginning.

The glow of Twilight's magic started to radiate outward from Frodo's injury, and almost immediately he began screaming in pain, trying to thrash about, despite his weakened condition.

"Hold him down!" Twilight snapped, her voice carrying far more authority than the others had ever heard her demonstrate before. Sam, Merry and Pippin responded to pinning Frodo's arms and legs down, fearful of the alternative if they didn't.

The sound of flesh being disturbed was nauseating to hear, thankfully drowned out by Frodo's screams of agony as his skin and muscle rippled. Twilight grunted as she struggled to concentrate, fighting to open the wound up, and force the tissue to uncompress from around the morgul shard it was holding captive.

As she forcefully pried the injury open, allowing blood to start seeping out, Frodo's screams of pain reached new and unnerving levels; nobody knew a hobbit could scream quite so loud.

"Stop! Stop! You're killing him!" Sam pleaded. He wanted to let go of Frodo and tackle Twilight to make her stop, but fear served to hold him back, and prevent such a course of action.

"Look!" Spike stated as he gestured to the injury. Looking closely, they could see that the shard was clearly visible, as it started to emerge from his body, enveloped in Twilight's magic.

"Almost... there..." Twilight grunted, her mind aching with concentration as she tried to cover so many different tasks at the same time; keeping the wound open, preventing the musculature from spasming around the shard, and grasping the shard itself.

She pulled. She pulled very, very hard on the shard, wrenching on it with such force, she literally threw herself onto her back in the process. But it had been worth it. She had managed to wrench the shard out of Frodo's body, saving him from the fate of becoming a wraith himself. She breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up, and examined the fruits of her labor...

... only to discover that the tip of the shard was blunt.

She cursed, something absolutely no one recognized, as she bolted up in a panic, the shard disintegrating in her grasp in the process.

"The tip must've broken off. I've gotta go back in and get it out!" she stated in a panic.

"No!" Strider objected as he thrust his hand forward to stop her. "I know not what sort of magic you weave, pony, but I fear if you try again, the trauma will serve to kill Frodo where he lays," he warned as the aforementioned hobbit gasped for air.

Rainbow Dash, who had been watching in silence the whole time, finally approached and shrugged Strider's shoulder from the side.

"I can't get Fluttershy to wake up. She wasn't stabbed or anything, but I can't get her to wake up at all," she stated in an obviously worried tone.

"I'll see to her when I can," Strider said. "But we have no time now. We must away, lest the wraiths decide to return."

He sent the others to gather all of their supplies, along with Bill, up to where they were, while Strider wrapped Frodo in his own cloak. Fluttershy was lifted onto the pony and Bill's baggage was split between everyone else. Strider himself carried Frodo.

"You said you'd see to her, right?" Rainbow Dash asked him as they split the supplies. "You have skills as a healer?"

"I do," said Strider. "And your friend should be fine. Frodo's wound, however, is beyond my skill to heal. He will need Elvish medicine."

With that, they began their journey once more.



Three days later they were in Trollshaws, a very wooded and mountainous region, but still the group had a long day ahead of them before they ever reached Rivendell. Fluttershy had awoken not long after they started their journey from Weathertop, and when they were too weary to go on, Strider tended her head injury.

Conferring with Twilight, he found that she had a concussion -likely from the encounter with the wraith, based on the testimony of the others- and could not walk very well, never mind walk quickly for a long time. So it was that she rode Bill the pony most of the time, and when the pony needed a break, Rainbow Dash or Applejack would take over carrying her for as long as they were able, and Bill carried a much lighter Frodo instead.

With each day that passed, Frodo was becoming worse, and worse. By the third day, he was well beyond the point of speaking to the others. His survival became more doubtful as the days went on.

On the third night, the group collapsed under the statues of three trolls. Frodo was awake, barely, but seemingly unaware of the world around him. Fluttershy passed out from the incredible nausea she'd been experiencing some time ago, and now Twilight held onto her tightly. She tried to distract herself from the situation, and instead concentrated on her surroundings. She looked up at the stone trolls, attempting a look of interest, knowing that there was very little that she could do on her own.

"What are statues doing all the way out here?" she asked to no one in particular.

Surprising, it was Sam who answered. "They were once living. When the sunlight touched their skin, they turned to stone." He paused and looked at Frodo. "Mr. Bilbo told me," he said quietly.

"I think I heard him telling that story back at the Shire. Although at the time I dismissed it as something to simply entertain the children," Twilight replied, still finding it hard to believe that sunlight could turn living tissue into stone.

Or... perhaps it was worse than that, and it was living tissue trapped within a stone prison. What if they were still alive, trapped in an immovable prison, and unable to communicate with those around them? She shuddered at such a thought.

Strider, who spent the last few minutes watching their surroundings with wary eyes, suddenly turned to Sam. "Sam, do you know of the athelas plant?"

"Athelas?"

"Kingsfoil."

"Kingsfoil, aye, that is a weed," Sam replied, slightly confused as to why Strider wanted to talk about herbs at a time like this.

Strider quickly clued him in. "It may help to slow the poison- hurry!" he said as he handed the hobbit a torch.

Rainbow Dash watched as they went off to find the plant, and then took a good look at Frodo. He was turning green in the face, he was shivering despite being both close to the fire, and wrapped in three or so cloaks. It seemed as if Frodo was truly suffering, and dying a slow, painful death.

Rainbow Dash frowned, exhaled, and decided to try to help the poor hobbit survive this ordeal. In the end, Frodo certainly wasn't a bad guy, and she simply couldn't think of any particular reason why she would want misfortune on him. Even the beautiful Ring that had captivated her attention, and still vied for it even now, simply didn't seem to be worth his death.

"I'm gonna go after Strider. Watch his back, and see if I can help him find this king whatever plant," she said to the others as she dug through the pile of gear, until she withdrew the sheathed sword that Frodo had wielded. In his current condition, he certainly had no use of it, and she wasn't about to go out into the forest unarmed.

Receiving a nod from the others, which she returned, she slipped the belt diagonally over her body, and took off in search of Strider.



The Pegasus quickly went through the trees, seeking for any signs of their guide. Despite the supposed ease involved, it still took her a few minutes of searching, before she finally saw the flickering light of a torch. It had to be either Strider or Sam. She hurried over towards the light to join whoever it was, but before she revealed herself, she stopped in her tracks. Her eyebrows went up in surprise at the scene before her.

She could make out the form of Strider kneeling on the ground, and above him was a tall figure holding a sword to Strider's neck. Rainbow Dash frowned, silently unsheathed her small sword, clenching the hilt between her teeth, and started to creep over to them. While she still had some minor reservations about trusting Strider completely, she trusted him far more than this strange figure, and she planned to intervene in this attack.

She was about to attack the figure from behind, when she too found a sword to her own back.

For Rainbow Dash, this particular situation had a familiar feeling to it. Someone was almost always hunting Daring Do in the books, and she often had a sword, or some other weapon pressed on her back just as she's about to get the artifact. She turned slightly, trying to face her attacker. However, her attacker knew what she was doing, and did not allow Rainbow Dash to turn further.

"Put down your blade," a male voice spoke.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and decided to play with him. "And if I don't?" she asked through the hilt of her blade, her back still to her attacker.

"Then I would be forced to kill you," her attacker replied.

"And who, my friend, would be forcing this?" Rainbow Dash retorted.

The figure seemed unsure how to reply to the unexpected, and even outright bizarre question. Now was Rainbow Dash's chance. She ducked and jumped back, now facing him.

This maneuver usually worked, and so she was surprised to see that the man followed her moves quickly, and now had the sword at her neck. The Pegasus, however, now had her sword pointed towards the man's neck, putting the two in an equal predicament.

Fate, though, was not on Rainbow Dash's side that night. She took a step back so the sword did not impale her, as the man also took a step back from her sword, but as she did, she tripped over a tree root lying right in her path. She shouted as she tripped, dropping her sword in the process. Using this moment, her attacker charged towards her.

At the same moment, Strider came crashing through the trees with a woman by his side. Rainbow Dash was on the ground cursing to herself. The Ranger stopped the attacker with a quick word in a strange language, before eventually helping Rainbow Dash back onto her hooves. The Pegasus ignored the help and backed away from them, picking up her sword once again.

"Strider, explain all this!" she yelled angrily. "One moment you have a sword to your bucking neck and the next you have a new friend! What's going on!?"

Strider chuckled slightly. He spoke something in a strange language to Rainbow Dash's attacker, and the stranger stepped out of the shadows towards Strider. In the torchlight, the Pegasus saw that it was a man who looked like a man, but at the same time looked nothing like a man. Now that she looked closer, the woman was the same. The observant Pegasus saw that their ears were pointed, and blinked in disbelief.

"What are you?" she asked.

The man of the group spoke in the strange language to Strider once more, and Strider replied in turn before answering Rainbow Dash. "They are elves, Rainbow." The other's eyebrows went up to her maneline, but in the end, she sheathed her sword and put it away.

"Elves. All right, fine. Elves," she said nonchalantly. Tilting her head, the Pegasus took one good look at them, before making a face and pushing her way past them, nearly colliding into Applejack in the process. Twilight was right behind her, her horn glowing as she prepared a spell.

Rainbow Dash glanced at the sword between Applejack's teeth that had just nearly impaled her. "Watch where you're point that thing," she scolded.

"Wha's goin' on here, Rainbow?" Applejack asked, completely ignoring her friend's comment. She glanced behind her, eyeing Strider and the two strangers. "We heard ya shout not a minute ago! Sam jus' came back to camp, an' was scared witless by the chance that there may be a fight nearby while Frodo is goin' ta the deep end."

"Strider has elf friends, apparently," Rainbow Dash said.

"Elves?" Twilight asked, stepping forward to get a better look.

"Elves. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be making my way back to camp." Rainbow Dash left the group and headed back to camp.

Applejack looked confused. "Elves?"

Strider and his companions seemed slightly amused, but Strider only shook his head. "There is no time to explain now. I need to give this to Frodo," he said, holding a plant. With that, he ran off.

The two elves quickly followed Strider. Applejack and Twilight shot each other a look, before they followed after them.



"I am Glorfindel of the House of Elrond, and my companion is Arwen, daughter to Elrond of Rivendell," the male elf said in greeting when everyone was under the stone trolls once more, and somewhat calmer than just moments ago. "We heard of your coming and went to find you."

"We have been searching for two days," Arwen added. "We did not realize that so many of you would be traveling together."

"It is quite a long story," Twilight explained, trying to get used to the fact that she was speaking with elves. And trying to figure out just what the difference between them and men were. "I am honored to make your acquaintances Lady Arwen, Lord Glorfindel. I am Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy," she said, smiling down at Fluttershy.

She regained consciousness just before Sam had come back with his own findings of kingsfoil, and the scent of crushed athelas was -at least by her own assessment- helping her pounding head and nausea greatly. Strider had just crushed it in a pot of water that was just finished boiling over the fire. He tended Frodo to the best of his ability while they made brief greetings. Sam, Merry, and Pippin were gathered around him, too concerned about Frodo to pay much attention to the elves for the moment.

"It's a pleasure," Fluttershy said weakly.

"Odd fellows you have taken up with, Dunadan," Glorfindel said to Strider in the strange tongue. Strider only shook his head, still concentrating on Frodo.

"What language are you speaking?" Twilight asked.

"It is Sindarin, one of the elven tongues, though some Men use it even in these late days," Glorfindel answered. He glanced over at Strider, and then stood and made his way to him. He spoke hurriedly to him in Sindarin, and Strider responded to him in the same tongue, sounding short and agitated. Glorfindel put his hand on Frodo's brow, and muttered in a similar-sounding tongue under his breath, while Arwen watched both Strider and the other elf anxiously.

"We need to get Frodo to my father," she said suddenly once Glorfindel pulled away from the hobbit. The other elf nodded in agreement.

"I have done all I could, and you, Dunadan, are much too weary to do more. He needs to see Elrond as soon as possible." The elf suddenly stood and walked away, saying, "I will prepare the horse."

Arwen sat down next to Strider. He closed his eyes, and used more athelas on the shoulder, but from what the others could see he was not getting the results he wanted. Arwen said something to him gently in Sindarin and took his free hand. Rarity noticed this, and glanced at the two in surprise. Before she could think more on her sudden suspicions, Glorfindel came back with his great white horse, Asfaloth. Strider stood and gently put Frodo on the steed.

"Who is to go with him?" Glorfindel asked them.

"I will," Strider said.

"I will take Frodo; I am a faster rider," Arwen argued, switching to Sindarin by habit.

"It is too dangerous," Strider said, a hard look in his eyes.

Glorfindel approached him, and in the same tongue, said, "Estel, you know she is a capable rider, and swifter than I am. Let us not argue further."

"It is the only task I can best you at, my lord," said Arwen with a small smile, and then turned to Strider once more. "You need to watch over the rest of his companions, my love."

Strider did not like the decision, but nodded in agreement regardless. Arwen jumped up on the horse and held onto Frodo. Her own horse, Rochamdir, neighed in dismay, and Glorfindel comforted the beast. Arwen smiled at her steed and then spoke to Asfaloth.

"Noro lim, Asfaloth, noro lim!" she whispered. With that, the horse took off.



After a couple more hours of rest -not the easiest thing to do when they were all riled up- the remainder of the group followed Asfaloth's trail. As they traveled, they heard the shrieks of the wraiths, and could not help but shudder at the screams. Fluttershy rode on Arwen's horse Rochamdir, a great steed, but gentle with the ailing Pegasus. The beast did not need to be led and followed willingly, so Rainbow Dash spent her time watching over her best friend, and the rest of the hobbits with the remainder of the group. Often Strider and Glorfindel would be at the front of the procession, quietly speaking with one another in Sindarin.

They tread through Trollshaws as quickly as they could in their weary state, eager to reach Rivendell by nightfall. They walked for hours with little food, and no rest. It was late afternoon when Fluttershy's throbbing head suddenly exploded into a full blown migraine. She held her head with both of her hooves, trying her best at muffling the groan that wanted so desperately to escape.

"Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, but Fluttershy could not hear her over the pounding of her head. "Strider, Fluttershy is seriously not doing well!" she called frantically.

Fluttershy didn't hear those last words, for she had finally passed out. The last thing she remembered hearing was the sound of running water.
> Rivendell
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Rivendell


Fluttershy awoke to find herself lying on a warm, soft bed, her head lying on one of the fluffiest pillows she had ever had the pleasure of encountering in her life, and covered in a silky, smooth blanket, the likes of which she was certain only Rarity and the Princesses had.

The yellow Pegasus stretched, and gently touched the wound on her head. It was bandaged with expert care, and her headache had died down to a dull throb in the back of her mind that was easy enough to ignore. She sat up slowly and looked around her, encouraged by the fact that the world was not violently spinning about in a nauseating fashion anymore.

She found herself in what was certainly the most beautiful place she could ever remember seeing in recent time. The windows held no glass, but instead flowering plants crept into the room, and emitted a heavenly scent. All around her, she could hear the songs of birds high in the trees, and the singing of water crashing merrily onto stones. The room itself was whitewashed and unadorned, and there were several other beds around her; one of which was currently occupied by Frodo himself, who appeared to be sleeping quite peacefully.

A door to her left slowly opened, and as she turned she was greeted by Rainbow Dash's visage. When Rainbow Dash saw her, her eyes lit up, and she ran over to her, embracing her tightly.

"Flutters, are you alright?" Rainbow Dash asked her softly.

"I will be if you don't squeeze me to death," she gasped.

Rainbow Dash released her with an apologetic smile and looked her in the eye, happiness shining clearly in her own bright pupils. "You've been asleep for a good long while. I'm so happy that you're finally awake."

Fluttershy smiled just as brightly as she straightened herself, before glancing around at her surroundings once more. "Where are we?"

"You are in the House of Elrond, and it is nine in the morning, on October the 22nd," a voice broke in.

Fluttershy looked past Rainbow Dash and saw a most unexpected -but still quite familiar- figure in the doorway.

"Gandalf!" she exclaimed with a smile, but then her face darkened. "Where were you, Gandalf? We were expecting you in Bree. We looked for you, but you never showed. And then the... the..."

"Nazgul," Rainbow Dash added.

"They showed up, and we couldn't wait any longer," Fluttershy finished.

The smile on his face faded, and he fell deep into thought. Finally he responded. "It is quite a long tale."

"I have the time," she insisted, not willing to let the issue go so easily.

He sighed as he walked over to her, and after the wizard pulled out a chair to her bed, he wearily sat down. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy looked at him curiously, and the yellow Pegasus almost regretted asking him about it, for his countenance had completely changed with her inquiry.

Before she could retract her question, however, he answered her. "I was being held prisoner."

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in shock and, behind her she heard Fluttershy gasp. "How? Where?" Rainbow Dash asked.

This time Gandalf shook his head. "All will be explained in due time," he said, "It is a long tale, and I only wish to tell it once. And now is not the time. If you would excuse me, miss Fluttershy and miss Dash, I should see Lord Elrond, and tell him that you are awake."

With that, he stood and left the two alone with the sleeping hobbit.

"Lord Elrond?" Fluttershy asked as she looked at Rainbow Dash.

"He's the lord of Rivendell, where we're at right now," her friend explained. "It's the city where Strider was leading us to. Thankfully he was true to his word."

"Speaking of him, how are the others? Where are they?"

"Sam, Merry, and Pippin are all pretty good, but they're all pretty upset with Frodo in this state," she said, nodding to Frodo in the bed beside them. "He's been unconscious this entire time, and... well it doesn't look good. There's been a constant in and outpouring of elven healers since he got here, doing things to him that I can't even begin to explain, but he's still pretty close to death from what I can gather."

"Oh no..." Fluttershy whispered. "I thought he could find help here, from what little I remember of the last few days."

"So did I, and apparently Lord Elrond is a renowned healer. Nonetheless, he hasn't been able to cure Frodo yet, though he doesn't seem to be getting any worse, at the least. From what I've gathered, even if Twilight could've gotten the shard out, the poison it had in it, had already leeched its way into his system. Some sort of morgul fail safe, or something," Rainbow Dash sighed, before straightening up again. "Strider's been in here with Elrond a lot, and while he's a really hard dude to read, I can tell that he's very concerned for Frodo. Sam's certainly the most worried, though. Me and the girls came to visit you as often as we could, and he was always here with him." She paused as she glanced at Frodo in worry again, but after a moment turned back to Fluttershy with a small smile. "There's one thing that I believe you'd like to know; old Bilbo is here too."

"Bilbo!" said Fluttershy with joy. "We didn't know him long, but he seemed most delightful. I hope to get to know him better while we stay here. But tell me about the others; how are our friends handling an elven city like this?"

Rainbow Dash paused momentarily, before climbing up onto the bed, and making herself comfortable as she rested next to Fluttershy, looking up at the ceiling.

"Well once the guards let us in, and everypony was certain you were out of danger, the first thing we did was take the longest, hottest bath we've had in a long time. After that, the healers finally took a look at Twilight's wing, and managed to get the nerve un-pinched. But the process left the muscles sensitive and tender, so she can't really manage finer movements needed for flight yet. Gonna take a while to get better," she explained.

"Oh. Well at least there's that," Fluttershy replied and nodded. She'd been worried about Twilight's wing ever since it was brought to her attention.

"After that everyone's more or less just been looking around, getting used to everything while waiting for you and Frodo to wake up. Twilight, naturally, has been spending every moment she can at the Rivendell library, trying to learn everything she can. You know how she can be," Rainbow Dash replied. Fluttershy nodded in understanding.

"Applejack was off wandering the valley last I heard. I hope she doesn't get lost, this is a seriously big city; like Canterlot or Manehattan."

"One can only hope."



Two days later, a very weary hobbit finally awoke from a long, dreamless sleep. The battle for his life was finally over, and the healers had won.

"Frodo, you are awake!"

"Where am I?"

"You are in the House of Elrond, and it is ten o' clock in the morning, on October the 24th. If you want to know."

The hobbit opened his eyes to find his bedside quite crowded. Most of his companions were beside his bed, and as he awoke, the relief was evident on all of their faces. Frodo sat up and looked around him. His eyes finally strayed to an old man currently smoking a pipe.

"Gandalf!" he exclaimed, joy evident in his features.

"Yes, I am here... and you're lucky to be here too. A few more hours in the Wild, and you would have been beyond our help. But you have some amazing strength in you, my dear hobbit. Even the greatest of men could not survive with a wound like that for so long. But I must admit you were very, very fortunate."

Frodo frowned. "Why weren't you there to meet us in Bree? Where were you?"

Gandalf sighed. "All will be explained in due time." He fell silent, deep in his own thoughts.

"Gandalf, are you alright?" Fluttershy asked him. Behind her Applejack was eyeing him with a strange look, as if she was not quite sure what to make of him.

Gandalf came back to reality and nodded. "Oh yes, I am fine," he insisted.

Suddenly Sam pushed through the crowd and came directly to Frodo's bed. "Mr. Frodo, I'm so glad that you are alright," he said with obvious relief.

"Hello Sam, I feel pretty good. My shoulder is not stone cold any more. Soon enough, I am sure I will feel life in it again."

"By the skills of Lord Elrond, you are still among us, and are beginning to mend. You will heal soon enough," Gandalf said, smiling.

"Lord Elrond?" Frodo asked.

It was at this point a lordly-looking elf pushed his way through the crowd beside Frodo's bed. He smiled as he came to his patient. "Welcome to Rivendell, Frodo Baggins."



Later that afternoon, a large group gathered in Elrond's study. Spike found himself the last to arrive, and there he saw that the rest of his companions from Equestria were there alongside their four hobbit companions, Bilbo, Gandalf, Strider, and a few elves; the majority of whom he didn't really recognize.

"Spike, thank you for joining us," Elrond said in greeting. "You know most here already, but I believe you have yet to meet my sons, Elladan, and Elrohir." The elf nodded to each son in turn. "Now that everyone is here," he went on, turning to Gandalf, "you told me some interesting facts about some of our guests here, that the rest of us would greatly benefit from knowing."

"But, as I said, I did not tell all," the wizard pointed out. "That is their decision to make."

Twilight frowned, quickly understanding what he was coming to. "Didn't you tell us not to speak about our origins?"

"Indeed I did. But with rules, there are always exceptions. All in this room are friends, and some already know," Gandalf said, glancing briefly at Bilbo and Frodo before turning back to Twilight. "And beyond this room, your story will not be heard by any."

The Alicorn nodded and glanced at her friends. When they did not show any objections to Gandalf's request, she briefly told the others how they arrived to Middle-earth. Some details were left out for the sake of simplicity, based on Gandalf's earlier reaction to the explanation. While the elves and Strider kept still, the hobbits, who had no way of knowing their full story, were clearly amazed at the prospect of visitors from another world.

"I was wondering about you fellows, but I would have never guessed that!" Pippin exclaimed.

"The explanation certainly clears many of my questions," Glorfindel said. "It explains some of their odd mannerisms, to say the least," he muttered in Sindarin to Strider who was right by his side. Strider only nodded, but kept his thoughts to himself.

Twilight's ears twitched at hearing Glorfindel's hushed muttering. "That's not exactly a nice thing to say," she replied.

Strider looked taken aback at hearing what Twilight had just said. She smiled to herself, before continuing. "Lord Elrond has been quite kind during our stay, and allowed me access to some of the Rivendell libraries. And I must say, the language of the Elves is much simpler to understand than the language of Man," she explained, before demonstrating that she too could speak in Sindarin.

"You learned their language in that short amount of time?" Merry asked, amazed by the display.

"Most of it. Some words, however, don't appear to have a direct equivalency with other languages, so it's a bit tricky. I'm afraid it's a bit patchwork right now," Twilight explained.

Arwen merely shook her head in response. "What did you do back in your homeland?"

"I was once the prized student of Princess Celestia herself, but I ascended to Alicorn -and by extension, royalty- status recently; just a few months ago really," Twilight explained.

"Eh, she's just being modest, as always," Rainbow Dash replied and waved her hoof dismissively. "Anyway, back where we came from, I was in charge of managing the weather for Ponyville. Fluttershy over here provides animal care services whenever somepony needs critters managed. Pinkie over there works at the local bakery. Rarity over there to the side is an expert at making high-class clothing. And Applejack off to the side there is a farmer, whose family is responsible for founding Ponyville where we all live."

"Hey, what about me?" Spike asked indignantly.

"Oh, right, sorry. Spike there is Twilight's assistance; he's the only one that was up for that task," Rainbow Dash added.

Elrond simply nodded in response. "No one can say what brought you to Middle-earth, but already you have proven helpful to Frodo and his kin. You may yet provide more aid in the future."

"Wit' all due respect, Sir, Ah don' know if tha's a possibility," Applejack spoke up as she stepped forward. "Gandalf said he was gonna see if there was a way ta send us back where we came from. An' much as we'd like ta stay an' help ya out, we've got responsibilities back home ta tend to. We got folks countin' on us there too," she explained.

"That's right," Rarity replied and nodded, before turning to face Gandalf. "I don't mean to be abrupt, Gandalf, but did you manage to find anything in Isengard while you were there? Did this, what was his name, Saruman The White? Did he know of anything that might help us?" she asked.

At this, Gandalf's face darkened.

"I must apologize. What Saruman knows, is of no use to your plight, my friends. I fear that my efforts at finding what would best assist you, were abruptly cut short," he explained.

"Well that's as cryptic as all get out," Spike complained.

"Yeah!" Pinkie added and nodded enthusiastically. "You said it yourself, Gandalf, we're your friends. Don't we deserve to know what happened?" she asked him pointedly.

Gandalf realized he stood in a precarious position, faced with the need to share what he knew, but uncertain of just what details to share. But if these ponies were going to be of assistance to them, they needed to know that they were trusted; not simply relied on because they were a source of convenience.

"Saruman is no longer an ally to the free peoples of Middle-earth. He now serves the forces of Sauron," he finally explained.

"... What!?"

All around the room, the revelation drew varying responses of shock, disbelief, and even outrage. It was understandable. But it was Twilight's response that seemed to stick out the most out of all of them. She was the only one who managed to get his attention in the ensuing bedlam.

"How... h-how does something like that happen? You said Saruman was the wisest wizard of the council! How could he of all people fall to Sauron?" she asked in utter disbelief of the revelation.

"Wisdom does not preclude one from making foolish decisions," Gandalf explained, "Sauron is not one to be trifled with lightly. Even in his weakened state, his spirit retains much of its potency. Saruman saw this for himself, and as a result he... chose poorly."

"Wonderful," Rainbow Dash grumbled. She could see this ending very, very badly. Saruman, supposedly the wisest of wizards around, was a treasonous coward, and was now aiding the enemy, meaning Sauron had access to who knew what kind of intel and support. As if this situation they found themselves in wasn't bad enough.

Twilight really should have gone with Gandalf to Isengard. That was the thought currently running through Rainbow Dash's mind. Had she and Gandalf been together and teamed up, they probably could've walloped the traitor right upside his head.

"Well then," Applejack spoke up, "looks like y'all got yerselves some extra helpin' hooves fer the time bein'. We're jus' gonna have ta make the best o' the situation," she reasoned.

Spike said nothing in response. In all the times he'd wanted to join Twilight and the others on their adventures, he'd never really expected it to actually happen; and certainly not in a world that wasn't their own. Their adventures in the parallel mirror world notwithstanding. Maybe he should've kept his wishes to himself.



Getting everyone calmed down in the wake of the revelation had not been easy to pull off. It had taken a great deal of effort by Elrond, Gandalf, and even Strider to get the room settled once again. The matter would certainly be discussed in greater detail, but not at present. According to Elrond, a matter of this sensitivity had to be discussed appropriately, and that needed the proper timing for best results.

For the time being, there were other matters to tend to. There was a delegation of coming visitors that had to be addressed.

The night Frodo awoke, there was a large feast in the Great Hall of Rivendell, and the hobbit and his companions were not the only guests there. There were many elves from far away lands, such as Galdor from the Grey Havens, and Legolas from the Mirkwood Realm. There were also dwarves, such as Gloin, and his son Gimli, from the Lonely Mountain up in the North. There were also a couple of men from kingdoms far away.

All the guests sat up at the high table. When Twilight and Spike came in, there were many mutterings, mainly from the dwarves, about there being an actual dragon in Rivendell of all places. Those who had yet to meet the ponies shot odd looks at them, especially at Pinkie Pie, who by far looked and acted the strangest of the strange.

Rarity, and more reluctantly Applejack, came in dressed in formal elven gowns loaned to them by the elves of the valley. While Rarity quickly fell into the role of a lady, Applejack looked rather uncomfortable and she would have preferred to eat at a table that was not higher than all of the other tables. The dress, too, was unlike anything she had ever worn back in the Grand Galloping Gala. But Rarity had talked her into making a good presentation on their guests, and the elves had been all too willing to provide them with something that seemed tailor made to their unique bodies.

The hobbits had on clean clothes, and most were quite embarrassed at sitting up at the high table with all the great lords, their little legs dangling so far off the flooring. Twilight and Rarity were used to it, as they had attended many such formal dinners within the last year, and Twilight all her life. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie really didn't care about where they ate, and Applejack's hunger soon took over her own discomfort at being a spectacle. The only one who really remained visibly uncomfortable with the whole arrangement was Fluttershy.

They sat down near one another, finding some comfort with each other among all the strangers. While Frodo quickly engaged in conversation with a dwarf, the younger hobbits were unsure on what to do, and so looked at the others for guidance. Fluttershy was talking quietly to Twilight; Rainbow Dash was goofing about with Pinkie, using various utensils and goblets to do something they didn't recognize; Applejack seemed too busy wolfing down her food to bother with talk. Spike, Merry, and Pippin quickly took after Applejack and began at their meal, while Sam quietly kept an eye on Frodo. Rarity, meanwhile, was taking care to make sure her dress didn't become mussed or wrinkled as she sat, doing her best to maintain proper posture.

And all throughout dinner, they were unaware that they were being discretely observed by the likes of Elrond and Gandalf.



"They are quite extraordinary. In all of my time, I have never seen anything quite like them..." The Elven lord whispered, watching the seven newcomers with astonishment. "They actually survived a wraith attack unarmed?"

"For all intents and purposes," Gandalf whispered back, knowing that what weapons Strider had procured, had gone to the hobbits. "As I understand it, their encounter included the Witchking of Angmar himself. Which makes their survival no less than a miracle."

"In any case," Lord Elrond said. "For seven inexperienced travelers, all of whom are uninformed of the specific dangers in our world, managed to survive what some of the finest warriors in Middle-earth could not." He shook his head. "I do not say it often. But frankly, I am stunned."

"They may be unaccustomed to the dangers of our world, Lord Elrond, but from what I have gathered, they are experienced in addressing grave threats," Gandalf replied. "I've gathered that much from what Twilight Sparkle has told me about their home. Apparently, she and her group of friends have faced many dangers. A corrupt tyrant that attempted to blot out the sun until the end of days, a rogue spirit with the powers of chaos itself, a maniacal dictator who enslaved an entire kingdom for over a thousand years, and a centaur that had the ability to absorb all of the magic in their homeland."

"Gandalf," Elrond said slowly. "As you know, delegates from distant countries have come to Rivendell in the past few days, seeking my council." He now met Gandalf's eyes. "I am calling a secret council, to be held tomorrow afternoon. I will permit the ponies to attend, but I would prefer that Spike stay out, along with Samwise, Meriadoc, and Peregrin."

"Right. And they may address their concerns at the council?"

"Yes. Though, Gandalf, I will warn both you and them- I will not stand for any childish outbursts."

"You need not worry. They are seven of the most dignified, responsible, and well-behaved beings I have ever seen. They will not cause a problem." Elrond gave a small smile.

"Good."



After a long, slightly chaotic dinner, everyone went back to their rooms to get some rest.

Everyone, that is, except for Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus was far too restless, and instead went outside the Last Homely House, and began to wander the paths around the valley, silently contemplating what she saw of the elves during the feast that night. After meeting with elves like Legolas, she concluded -either rightly or wrongly- that only Glorfindel was a frightening elf, and that other elves during the feast were nothing to worry about. During the feast, she saw some elves at the lower tables becoming merrily drunk; the Pegasus then came to the conclusion that elves could actually be rather fun companions, if enough drink was available.

Not that she was an alcoholic or anything like that. She was just going by what she'd seen around here.

As she walked along a wooded, secluded pathway, wondering where she could find some more of the elvish wine served during the feast to keep the more stiff-necked elves entertaining, she suddenly heard voices. More importantly, she recognized both voices. Rather than leaving as a decent pony would do, she happily let her curiosity take over her, crept over to a tree, and flew up to get a better view of what was going on, hovering just about over a stream and a bridge, and waited.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she saw the owners of the voices, Strider and Arwen, walked along the pathway. Their hands were intertwined, and the look they gave one another was the same look Shining Armor and Princess Cadence often seemed to share, Rainbow Dash could not help but smirk. Love: the only thing in the world that made a pony act more foolish than a tankard of ale.

The couple walked over to the middle of a bridge, right below her, completely unaware of her presence. They started speaking in Sindarin with one another, and Rainbow Dash held in a sigh. Being unable to understand the language was not particularly helpful in the art of eavesdropping. She was really going to need to talk to Twilight about teaching her what she'd learned.

Finally Strider spoke in the language she could actually understand. "You said you would bind yourself to me, forsaking the immortal life of your people."

"And to that I hold. I would rather share one lifetime with you, than face all the Ages of this world alone."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. Elves were immortal? Was that really what she was hearing?

She then saw Arwen give something to Strider. it was a silver necklace that glimmered brightly in the moonlight; it almost looked as beautiful as Frodo's ring.

"I choose a mortal life," Arwen whispered to him.

"You cannot give me this," Strider argued.

"If they don't want it, I'll take it," Rainbow Dash thought to herself. She couldn't deny that, even now, knowing all that she did, she was still lusting after the ring that Frodo carried. The evil contained within it, that was calling out to her, still couldn't taint the beauty it had about it. But maybe, maybe if she could substitute it for the next best thing, it would have a harder time holding onto her.

If nothing else, she could always give it to Rarity, since she had an appreciation for fine jewelry. It was certainly no fire ruby, but it was... subtle. Enough to be desirable, while still leave you wanting more.

"It is mine to give to whom I will," Arwen quietly rebutted. "Like my heart." With that, they fell into a passionate kiss.

If Rainbow Dash had any particular thoughts on the scene before her, she had no time to think them. As the couple touched lips, the Pegasus set down on the branch below her as she felt her wings stiffening up. And then she heard a crack. She gasped and tried to get off her perch, but was too late; the branch broke, and Rainbow Dash fell with it.

Arwen and Strider's kiss was interrupted by a loud splash. They abruptly broke apart, and quickly looked over the edge of the bridge. They saw a large branch floating downstream, but before they dismissed their interruption to nature only, Rainbow Dash stood up in the stream. Strider and Arwen were too surprised to speak. The Pegasus shook her head in a effort to dry her mane, trying to think of what to say in response to being caught more or less spying on them.

"Wonderful night for a swim, eh?" she called out to the two. Before they could respond, she pulled herself out of the stream and staggered away, cheeks flushed.



Twilight looked around her, stepping delicately to avoid making any noise as she moved, not wanting to wake the others from their well deserved slumber. Thankfully they were all too out of it from their feast to pay her any attention, as she soft hooved her way out of their provided quarters.

She moved slowly, cautiously to avoid putting too much pressure on the floor that might cause a creak to sound, or her pack to make a commotion from an unintended shift in weight. The last thing she needed right now was an audience.

Slipping out of the room undetected was one thing. Doing the same through the hallways was something else, but she'd managed it regardless, making her way outside. If anyone had seen her moving about, no one had said a thing to her about what she was doing with her pack, or where she was going. And she was quite, quite thankful for that disinterest.

"So far, so good," she breathed to herself as she made her way to the outer edge of Rivendell proper, completely unnoticed.

"What's up, Twilight?"

Unnoticed... except for Rainbow Dash who seemed to pop out of nowhere, nearly making her scream in response to her sudden appearance.

"What're you doing out here?" she asked.

"Went for a late night swim to clear my head," Rainbow Dash replied and shrugged. "What about you?"

"I..." Twilight paused, trying to think of how to explain what she was up to. "I need to, take care of some things. Alone. By myself."

"By yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked and quirked an eyebrow. "Look, Twilight, I don't know what you're up to, but I know you're not looking for a bathroom. And if whatever you're doing requires a pack, then obviously it's something significant," she pointed out, noting how Twilight flinched at her words. "Look. There's two ways this can go. You can either trust me, and tell me about what's going on. Or I can find out by myself when I follow along. Your call really."

Twilight bit her lip, realizing that she was pretty much cornered right now. And as Rainbow Dash had so eloquently stated, she was going to find out what she was up to, one way or another. She really wasn't liking her options right now.

Knowing what she did, there was really only one thing she could do in this situation.



Gandalf jolted awake at the sound of a firm, frantic pounding on the door to his room. He knew that the hour was still quite late, so he hadn't even come close to oversleeping. And yet he was still being awoken urgently.

Getting out of bed, he stumbled his way to the chamber door, opening it to the flooding of lights in the hallway, and -as his eye adjusted- to the sight of a very frantic looking Fluttershy, her blue eyes telling him that she was on the verge of total panic.

"Gandalf, we need help!" she stated as firmly as her soft voice would allow.

"Whatever is wrong?" Gandalf asked.

"I woke up only a little while ago, but Twilight wasn't in her bed. Neither was Rainbow Dash. All I found was this," she stated shakily as she presented with a folded piece of parchment she had tucked under her wing.

Taking it in his hand, he recognized the glyphs as being the same that Twilight had used during her efforts at learning how to communicate in the common language. But recognizing them didn't mean he understood their meaning.

"What does it say?" he asked.

"I-it's Twilight's writing. It says she went to Isengard to see Saruman," Fluttershy explained.

Gandalf's response came in the form of Sindarin as best Fluttershy could tell, but she had no idea what he'd just said. But she had a sneaking suspicion that whatever it was, it was very impolite, and best not used in mixed company.
> Confrontation at Isengard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Confrontation at Isengard


Rainbow Dash sat down, woozy, eyes shut as she waited for the world to quit spinning in three different directions at the same time. All the while she groaned, and silently cursed her loyalty to her friends motivating her to go along with this crazy idea.

When she'd confronted Twilight back in Rivendell, and extracted a confession from her as to what she was doing, she knew that it was an utterly crazy idea. Going all the way to Isengard to see Saruman face to face? As far as she was concerned, Twilight had absolutely flipped her lid, that was the only way to actually describe it right now.

In the back of her mind, she knew that she should've tried to stop her, and gotten someone who could help her. But she also knew that if she'd tried that, she would've risked Twilight simply teleporting away during her absence, and then they'd never find her. The only option she really had was to tag along with her, in hopes of talking some sense into her friend's thick skull. And with a journey of nearly 700 miles ahead of them -at least according to what she remembered of Bilbo's maps back at the Shire- she figured there would be plenty of time to do just that.

What she hadn't anticipated, however, was the long-range teleportation that Twilight was utilizing.

When she thought long range, she was thinking two to three miles at a time, like back when Twilight was a Unicorn. But instead, she was knocking out an estimated 50 miles at a time! The sheer amount of increased performance they were talking about was almost impossible to believe.

Unfortunately the increased distance was disorienting to experience. While Twilight needed to stop in between and catch a breather, Rainbow Dash had to wait for her equilibrium to restore, or risk being violently sick all over anyone and anything in the area; totally the uncool thing to do.

She was thankful for the rest breaks. While her stomach settled, and Twilight rested, it gave her opportunity to think over their situation. It gave her the time that she needed to consider her available options, and figure out what to do about getting a handle on Twilight. This was hardly the first harebrained scheme that'd ever come up. But it was by far the most dangerous that she could remember. Walking right into the enemy's base? That was... that was...

She didn't want to think about it. Thinking about it made her brain hurt.

"Okay, I'm rested up," Twilight stated, "are you ready to go, Rainbow Dash?"

"I will be in a minute," Rainbow Dash said as she sat up a little straighter and opened her eyes to look at her friend. "I just need to say, that this is officially the dumbest idea you've ever had in your life!"

"Rainbow Dash, we've been over this before," Twilight replied, not even flinching as her friend yelled in her face. "Saruman aiding Sauron is simply an unacceptable turn of events. His being compromised in such a way drastically weakens whatever strength the people of Middle Earth have. We can't simply leave him in that state, writing him off as a lost cause. If we rescue him, Sauron's strength will be drastically weakened, and whatever knowledge Saruman has gained from this unholy alliance will be ours. Think of the tactical advantage Gandalf and the others would have, if they knew what he knew," she stated.

"He's not gonna give us anything, he's a traitor, Twilight! He went over to Sauron willingly. You can't just beat the snot out of him, and rag him back over to the other side. He made his decision, now everyone has to live with it!" Rainbow Dash shot back.

"I refuse to believe that," Twilight stated sternly and frowned. "Saruman is a fellow intellectual, and I refuse to even consider that he could come to the conclusion of his own volition, that serving Sauron was the best decision, because it isn't. Saruman had to be tricked, brainwashed into his actions, just like what Discord did to us when he was first freed. That's the only logical conclusion available."

"Oh don't give me that! Just because he's smart, doesn't mean he's above making stupid decisions. Even you aren't above making stupid decisions; remember that time you tried to drill a hole through your head?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"That would've worked if you hadn't stopped me," Twilight replied and frowned. "Rainbow Dash, I'm doing this, and that's all there is to it. Nopony forced you to tag along with this. If you don't like it, then just go back to Rivendell. I'll be fine on my own."

"Oh sure, that's a brilliant idea. I'll just trek back 500 miles over unfamiliar terrain all by myself, and leave you to face off against a wizard stronger than Gandalf all by yourself! Totally genius idea! I wish I could've thought of something that great on my own!" Rainbow Dash replied sarcastically. "You're not getting rid of me that easily. I said I was coming along for this wild ride, and I'm not about to just leave you all by your lonesome in the heart of enemy territory. You're either coming back with me, or neither of us is going back to Rivendell. That's just how it's gonna be."

"Rainbow Dash-"

"What'm I supposed to tell the others, huh? You tell me, what'm I supposed to tell them? What do I tell Spike on why you're not there? What do I tell your parents when we get back to Equestria, and you're not there? Do you have something in mind for each of them, or should I just give them a generic 'Twilight's dead, sorry I don't have the details for you' sort of message to let them know that they're never going to see you again?" she asked, her voice hard and ragged as she spoke.

"Rainbow Dash-"

"No! I'm not going to do that! Please, I'm begging you, as a friend, please don't put me in that kind of position!" Rainbow Dash yelled, unable to maintain her composure any longer. She couldn't keep up the anger, or the hostility, or anything else that would let her get through this without breaking down in a tearful mess.

Twilight's whole plan amounted to little more than a suicide mission, and there was nothing she could do to talk her out of it. She knew full well that if she let her proceed with her plan, this was going to be the last time they ever saw each other and it was going to be under less than pleasant circumstances. But try as she might, no matter how many times she spoke up, trying to convince her friend to not do this, she remained convinced that it was the best course of action available to them, and would hear nothing else. It was all far too much for Rainbow Dash to bear any further.

"I don't want you to die..."

The next thing Rainbow Dash knew, Twilight had pulled her into a firm hug, both forelegs and wings, and held her close, catching her completely off guard.

"Shh, shh, it's alright, Rainbow Dash, it's alright," Twilight stated in a gentle tone as she hugged the distraught pegasus close to her. "Nopony's going to die, I promise. We're not marching into a battle, we're only going to talk with Saruman, and convince him to end his alliance with Sauron, that's all."

"We'll leave at the first sign of trouble?" Rainbow Dash asked, voice muffled by the close proximity to Twilight's body.

"If I feel we can't handle the situation, we'll leave," Twilight reassured her.

"Swear it," Rainbow Dash said as she straightened herself up.

"What?" Twilight asked.

"Put up your hoof and swear to me, on your honor as the Princess of Friendship, that we'll get the buck out of there at the very first sign that we're in over our heads. That's the only way I'm letting you go a step further," Rainbow Dash stated, doing her best to muster as much conviction and dedication in her voice as possible.

"Rainbow Dash-"

"No!" Rainbow Dash yelled in interruption. "Do it, Twilight, swear it! You're my friend, Twilight, that's the only way I'm letting you go another step forward. Because if you don't, then I swear that I'll knock you unconscious, and drag your flank all the way back to Rivendell by myself!" she stated as she held Twilight as hard as she could to hinder her movement.

Twilight wheezed, unaccustomed to being handled so roughly by one of her friends. She didn't know just what had gotten Rainbow Dash so worked up, but it was unlikely that talking reason into her was going to be a possibility.

"A-alright, Rainbow, alright," She relented. As she did, Rainbow Dash relented in loosening her grasp, just enough for her to withdraw her foreleg, and hold it up. "On my honor, as the Princess of Friendship, I swear that if the situation gets out of control, we'll blow through Tartarus to get out of Isengard, and back to the safety of Rivendell."

"Good," Rainbow Dash sniffed as she wiped her eyes. "Now let's go find Saruman, kick Sauron out of his head, and get back to Rivendell so we can get in a few hours of sleep."



"Whoa..."

Several more long-range teleportations, followed by several more -and much needed- rest periods to recover from the extended exertion. Rainbow Dash was glad for that, because at the time of the last teleportation, even the rest breaks weren't being sufficient to help settle her stomach completely.

At that point, however, it was more of a moot point than anything. Isengard -or rather the tallest tower in the area that they assumed to be the center of Isengard- was clearly visible from several miles away, indicating that they were going in the right direction. And that short distance could easily be crossed by flying the rest of the way.

That is, it could've been easily crossed, if not for the fact that Twilight still couldn't properly move her wing, and keep herself aloft. That left her needing to be carried by Rainbow Dash; not always the best method of transport, but certainly better than trying to walk the distance. Especially with the vantage point it provided them of what was below.

All down below them, all around the tower, were large caverns lit by fire, with a great deal of activity going on below, as well as above ground. Huge, billowing clouds of noxious smoke arose high into the air, making the two of them very glad that they weren't flying directly overhead.

"What is all this mess?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know. It looks like some primitive refinery, or factory, carved right into the earth itself. It's all very primitive, but its extent is utterly impressive. Something like this should have taken months to set up, yet it was done in just days," Twilight replied as she scanned everything, both visually, and magically.

"Yeah, really impressive," Rainbow Dash replied, her tone indicating that she didn't share Twilight's sentiments. "And what're those things all over the place down there? They don't look like men. Could they be trolls?"

"I don't know. They're a lot smaller than the petrified trolls we saw. Maybe they're something new," Twilight replied uncertainly. "Whatever they are, we should probably set down and approach on hoof. We might not be well received if we just flew directly to the tower."

The two set down just beyond the clearing, under cover of the forest. From there they began the slow walk to the tower of Isengard, keeping a wary eye out for anything that might constitute a sign of danger. As much as the area was cleared of any debris or underbrush, there were still blind spots to either hide behind, or for something else to hide within as they approached.

"I really don't like this," Rainbow Dash whispered as she kept close to Twilight's side, eyes darting back and forth as they walked along. "I've got a bad feeling about this. Like really bad; atmospheric changes before an unplanned storm type of bad," she explained.

"I'll be alright," Twilight whispered back. That wasn't to say she too wasn't experiencing a sense of dread. But right now there were more important things to tend to. She'd worry later, when the situation had calmed down some.

"Well, well. What 'ave we 'ere?"

The deep, guttural voice them caused both ponies to jump in surprise, and look behind them, each of them nearly screaming at the tall, muscular, menacing bipedal individual in a loincloth that stood just a few paces away, a large cleaver-like sword resting over its shoulder as it looked at them.

"We are so dead," Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she looked at those teeth displayed in a snarl. Whatever these things were, they were a lot more muscly than any man she'd ever seen. He could probably fold Strider right in half like it was nothing.

"Hello," Twilight replied in greeting, seemingly undisturbed by the intimidating visage before them, "I'm afraid we're a bit lost. Could you tell us where we could find Isengard?" she asked.

"You're in Isengard," it stated in a tone that nearly made Rainbow Dash flinch, as if it was snapping at them out of annoyance with their presence.

"Oh. Good then," Twilight replied, undisturbed by the harsh tone. "We've come to see about an audience with Saruman the White. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my friend, Rainbow Dash. Who might you be, good, er, sir?" she asked, hoping she wasn't getting gender confused in who -or what- she was addressing.

"Quite 'ungry," the biped responded, giving a lick of the lips while eyeing them intently. Rainbow Dash gulped nervously at that.

"Hungry?" Twilight asked, before sitting down and undoing her pack, before fishing around until she found what she was looking for. "Apple?" she asked as she held up the fresh fruit for consideration.

The look given at the gesture suggested bewilderment; like this was the first time something of this nature had ever happened.
"No meats?" it asked in response.

"Sorry, fresh out," Twilight replied as she looked back in her pack, "I'm afraid all we've got are apples, some carrots and... potatoes. But those don't really taste good without being cooked."

Much to Rainbow Dash's surprise, the thing shrugged, and actually took the apple and proceeded to devour it, rather than try and fillet them in its place.

"They're quite good this year," Twilight commented. "Now then, about our audience with Saruman the White."

"Lord Saruman said 'e does not wish ta be disturbed for anything," came the gruff reply.

"Oh? Is that so?" Twilight asked as she proceeded to fish around in her pack again, before pulling out two more apples, one in each of her hooves. "Are you sure you couldn't possibly make an exception for us? We've traveled quite a long distance just to see him. It would be such a shame if we had to return home, and report that Saruman the White has no interest in discussing an alliance," she explained calmly.

Rainbow Dash didn't know just what Twilight was up to, or what she was doing. But whatever she was doing, it was apparently enough to talk this thing out of eating them. It was even looking like it was mentally going over everything it had to consider, between its orders, and Twilight trying to talk her way past it. She honestly didn't know what to make of it all.

Finally, the guard -she was assuming it was a guard- seemingly shrugged, and took both of the apples being offered up to it. "Stay close," it instructed and walked past them.

"Thank you," Twilight replied as she readjusted her pack and fell in line behind, with Rainbow Dash bringing up the rear close behind. "By the way, could you tell me your name? I'd like to know who to compliment Saruman for employing."

"Raglax," he spoke in between bites.

"Good to meet you, Mr. Raglax."



Sauron was pleased with how things were progressing in Isengard. Saruman could see as much through the Palantír. The progress on the creation of the army pleased the dark lord quite well. Uruk-Hai were being forged round the clock, with the best orc smiths working tirelessly at creating ample arms for every soldier. It would be a force of reckoning, the likes of which Middle Earth had never seen before.

And then, when the time was right-

A loud knocking at the doors to his study disrupted Saruman's thoughts, breaking contact with the Palantír.

"I said that I do not wish to be disturbed for any reason," he spoke firmly.

"Apologies, Lord Saruman, but you 'ave a couple o' travelers out 'ere claiming to have an appointment with you," came a gruff voice from the other side of the door.

Now Saruman was curious. Still furious, but nonetheless curious. One did not simply walk into Isengard. Nor did one claim to have an appointment with him.

On his command the doors opened, revealing the Uruk-Hai that had addressed him, and not one, but two strange visitors.

Perhaps Gandalf's age wasn't playing the tricks on him that he'd first assumed.

"I recall no such appointment," he stated as he calmly approached, regarding the both of them closely. Out of the two, the blue one seemed the most nervous in response to his words; almost as if it was aware of the meaning of his words, and the implications that went along with them. If there was no appointment, then they were trespassing.

"Shall I escort 'em to the butcher then, Lord Saruman? The boys are gettin' quite 'ungry for meats," the uruk stated as he licked his chops.

If the blue pony had been nervous before, then it was absolutely terrified now. Most interesting.

"Not just yet. I wish to question our guests," Saruman stated. He would get whatever information he could from them first. And then he would consider what other uses they might serve to their operation. "Step forward. We have much to discuss."

"Indeed we do," Twilight stated as she entered the room, Rainbow Dash trailing behind to her left. "I-"

"You presume too much," Saruman spoke slowly as he raised his staff.

The next thing Twilight and Rainbow Dash knew, they were both subjected to something unlike anything they'd ever experienced before. It was an overwhelming, paralyzing pressure that enveloped their bodies, leaving them unable to move. But that was only the first part of what they were subjected to; there was also a similar pressure being applied to their minds.

"Tell me. For what purpose did you travel to Isengard?" Saruman asked, focusing on Twilight first. He could tell that of the two, she was the most intelligent, and most likely to be in charge of whatever operation was in play.

Twilight tried to respond, but found it impossible to do such in a way she'd intended. The pressure on her mind was growing more intense with every second, making her wince as she tried to shut her eyes, but found them unable to respond to the basic command. It was like every impulse in her body was being overridden by Saruman, leaving her unable to do anything of her own free will. It was like trying to tell instinct to shut up.

"To... to see about forming an alliance with Saruman the White," she finally said in response. She couldn't be certain as to what they were being subjected to, but she had reason to suspect that it was some method of extracting the truth from someone; possibly forcefully compelling them to speak, even if they didn't want to.

"Is this true?" Saruman asked as he turned his attention to Rainbow Dash, seeking corroboration.

"No. No it isn't," Rainbow Dash admitted, "I came along so she wouldn't have to travel alone."

"You cannot lie to me. If you attempt to, it will only hurt you all the worse," Saruman stated as he raised his staff to increase the pressure, causing Rainbow Dash to wince painfully. "Why did you come to Isengard?"

"For my friend, so she wouldn't have to travel alone," Rainbow Dash repeated.

"Noble," Saruman commented, before turning back to Twilight. "For what purpose did you travel to Isengard?"

"To see about forming an alliance with Saruman the White," Twilight repeated, unable to say anything else in the face of the overwhelming pressure she was being subjected to.

"For what purpose?" Saruman asked as he pressed harder.

"Because survival without such an alliance wouldn't be possible!" Twilight stated.

Saruman considered the answer he was given, before pulling his staff back.

Just as it had come on, the pressure was released and both Twilight and Rainbow Dash collapsed on the ground, gasping for air, and feeling like they'd experienced the most intense workout of their entire lives.

"A wise decision on your part," Saruman commented as he leaned against his staff while observing them. "Come. We have much to discuss."



Rainbow Dash didn't have a clue what spacious room they were currently sitting in, but she'd assume it was Saruman's study in the tower of Orthanc; a fact he was all too willing to share. Apparently Isengard was the territory around the tower. Not that she really cared.

Saruman and Twilight had been talking in what struck her in a semi-amiable manner for what felt like an hour, all the while she just listened, not having much to add to the conversation. Standing guard by the door behind them was Raglax, an Uruk-Hai according to Saruman; a subtype of the group known as "orcs" and something of an elite type from what she understood. Built large, strong, and resilient to sunlight.

Listening to Saruman talk, she could tell that he was quite proud of the quality of these orcs that he was apparently manufacturing in the underground factory. She didn't know what disturbed her worse about the entire conversation the two were sharing. That Saruman was manufacturing them like artificial goods, or that Twilight was actually complimenting him on the quality of his work, and pointing out potential shortcomings of his design that could stand to be improved; like how the musculature of the neck undoubtedly provided reinforcement for the spinal column and cord, but could potentially inhibit the full range of movement of the head. Why would she ever bring something like that up so freely? Something like that should've been kept to themselves so Saruman couldn't improve the design.

The conversations unfolding in front of her were difficult to follow. Despite her best efforts, she just kept zoning in and out, picking up random fragments here and there. In truth what all they were talking about was starting to make her head spin.

But then a specific piece of discussion caught her attention, and held it. Saruman wasn't opposed to the idea of an alliance, but he wanted proof of loyalty first. Specifically, he wanted them to bring him the One Ring to show that they were true to their word.

Rainbow Dash bristled at this idea, growling under her breath. She knew that the ring was evil, and filled with unspeakable wickedness, but that didn't stop her from wanting to claim it as her own. It was alluring, and calling to her in ways she'd never felt before. And he wanted it for himself? That was certainly not happening! She wasn't about to beat the tar out of Frodo and take the ring, just to hand it off to someone else.

"I'm afraid that's not an option right now," Twilight spoke up, snapping Rainbow Dash out of her less than noble thoughts. "We lost track of the ring some days ago. I honestly have no idea of where it currently is. And even if I did, the journey is quite long; too long to be made in any reasonable length of time, so fulfillment of the requirements would take days to complete, during which we would both have to be gone. That's assuming your troops don't eat us on sight, as they apparently have ravenous appetites. And all of this based upon nothing but your word, that you would align with us, if we give you what so many seem to want," she explained, before concluding with a sigh. "In short, no sell."

"Yeah. That's not going to be happening anytime soon," Rainbow Dash replied.

"It looks like we made the whole trip for nothing. I don't think there's anything left to say with words," Twilight added.

"But you said-" Saruman started.

"A helpful bit of advice," Twilight interrupted, "it's not so much what's said, as it is how it gets phrased. I was telling the truth the whole time about the alliance. I just never elaborated that the goal was to bring you into alliance with the rest of us against Sauron."

"So. You have chosen death then..." Saruman spoke slowly.

The next thing Twilight knew, she had been sent flying backwards across the room with a wave of Saruman's staff, where she crashed into the wall with a heavy thud.

"Bastard!"

Rainbow Dash came flying across the room, swinging her hind leg forward hard enough to take Saruman's head right off his shoulders for what he'd done to Twilight. Unfortunately her swing stopped short upon contact with a shimmering barrier materializing before her, protecting Saruman from any injury.

"You have spirit. But spirit alone does not win victories," he commented, before swinging his staff, and hurling her back in the same way he had Twilight.

What he didn't expect was Rainbow Dash getting right back up, and preparing to attack again as quickly as she did. The only thing that stopped her was Raglax stepping between them, and bringing his sword to bear.

"Get out of my way!" Rainbow Dash yelled angrily.

"Who's gonna make me?" Raglax asked.

What followed the question -from Saruman's point of view anyway- looked like an exchange of good old fisticuffs, the two trading blows against one another. Or at least it should've been such. Raglax was undeniably the stronger of the two, and should've been able to end the fight in short order. But Rainbow Dash was much quicker, more flexible, and far more able to avoid whatever crude, slow attacks were launched at her, before following up with a quick jab to the face or chest. Even the presence of his scimitar was proving to be little benefit, when his quarry could simply use his momentum against him, and pick an opening to exploit by following up with a sideways kick to the head.

"Cute trick."

Saruman's plans to intervene were interrupted at the voice, bringing his attention to Twilight as she picked herself up off the floor.

"Back when I was a Unicorn, that would've hurt me quite a bit. But now that I'm an Alicorn, and can shake off being hit with a mountain, not so much," she commented.

"Then let us see what can be done about that..." Saruman commented.

Before he could do anything, however, his staff was yanked from his hands with enough force, he was nearly thrown to the ground in the process.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Twilight said as she cast the staff aside behind her and approached. "We came here for the purpose of freeing you from Sauron's influence, not to fight you. Fighting under these circumstances would be rather rude."

The next thing Saruman knew, he found himself being hurled across the room, landing against the wall with a thud, and falling into a sitting position one the far end.

"See? Rude," Twilight stated before teleporting directly in front of Saruman, stopping him from getting up. "Now just hold still, this won't hurt a bit," she said as she touched her horn to his forehead.

In truth she wasn't sure if this spell was going to work. It had been the same spell she'd used to banish Discord's influence from her friends after he'd escaped the first time, and it had worked wonders in all five cases. But Saruman was no pony, and she knew very little about him otherwise, so it would be difficult to say for certain whether or not it would be a success.

The visage of an eye made entire of fire flashing over Saruman's face suggested that success wasn't an option under these circumstances.

Saruman's laugh also did little to suggest otherwise.

"You could not possibly comprehend the might of Sauron, little pony," he stated as he moved to get up, only for Twilight to push him back down with her hoof.

"Then I'll simply have to try something else," she stated as her horn started glowing brighter. "I'll just have to flood your mind with my influence, until there's no more room left for Sauron to occupy!" she declared as she pressed harder. Sauron couldn't possibly control what he couldn't possibly occupy.



Twilight blinked as she looked around at her surroundings, knowing not where she was, except that it certainly wasn't Orthanc.

Being drawn into the mindscape wasn't the intended purpose of her efforts, but it was a possibility when a battle of wills was triggered. Usually it was a sign of the targeted will being remarkably strong, and able to resist efforts at removing it. And if that was the case, then it meant that Sauron wasn't going to leave without a fight.

But in order to expel Sauron, she first had to find where he was hiding in here. But looking around at what was before her, she knew that was going to be hard to do. The whole area was so... bland, and vacant, other than a rocky outcropping that jutted jaggedly up out of the ground.

"You can't hide from me, Saruon, I know you're here; I wouldn't be here if you weren't. Just show yourself already so we can..."

Twilight's words died in her throat as the rocky structure in the middle of the vacant area started to move on its own accord. It was only then that she realized it wasn't a rocky outcropping that she was looking at, but rather someone who was easily three times her height, and wearing the spikiest armor she'd ever seen before in her life. Seriously, there were more spikes and sharp points than a porcupine had!

"Ho-ly butts!" she exclaimed in surprise and jumped back. That would have to be Sauron, of course, knowing the type of luck that she had.

Focus! She had to focus on the mission. She was here to chase Sauron out of Saruman's head, not be intimidated by him, simply because he had a firmer hoofhold on the territory by default. Saruman had to be rescued, and that duty befell her, and her alone.

"Begone Sauron! Saruman isn't yours to command!" she stated with a renewed resolve, knowing that this wouldn't be a battle of magic, but a battle of wills. The one with the strongest will would win the engagement, and she was no slouch in that department.

She didn't expect Sauron to just comply with her order, that would be asking far too much.

She also didn't expect him to start talking in some dark, menacing tone, in a dialect she couldn't possibly understand. Yet apparently that was the game plan for him.

"I'm sorry, did I stutter? Did I use some phrasing that led you to believe that was a request? That this was up for debate? Because it's not!" she shouted as she angrily flared her wings, her horn glowing brightly in the process. "Leave now!"

The dialect, she didn't understand, whatever it was. But she didn't have to understand Sauron's words to know that he intended to fight her on this. He was going to flex the might of his will against her own in an effort to assert dominance; something that the engulfment of his right fist in a sheathing of fire conveyed quite well.

"If you want to do it the hard way, then fine. Let's see just what you've got," Twilight stated as she let loose with everything she had.



Duking things out with an Uruk-Hai really wasn't as easy as Rainbow Dash had thought it might be. Their faces were like stone, and their heads were as hard as an anvil. Ragnarok -or whatever his name was, she really didn't care- was built tough, and could take an unbelievable amount of abuse without being significantly staggered.

All in all, it was kind of respectable. Or at least it would've been if he wasn't trying to kill her. That was what necessitated a knockout uppercut punch that sent the orc toppling over onto the ground, all sprawled out and whatnot.

She knew her hooves were going to be aching something fierce in the morning. But at least she'd be alive so that they could ache.

"Okay," she panted, "now that old ugly is taken care of."

With her opponent taken care of, her focus was now on Twilight and Saruman. But the lack of noises consistent with magic being hurled about made it confusing as to just what was going on. Looking around the room, now that she wasn't focused exclusively on the orc, she quickly found them on the far side. Saruman was sitting on the floor against the wall, with Twilight standing over them, her horn pressed against his head and glowing. Neither one of them was either moving or speaking.

Wait, she took that back. Saruman was moving, but it didn't look right. It looked like he was spasming or convulsing every couple of seconds. She didn't know if that was a normal part of the process that Twilight was putting him through. But she was fairly certain that it wasn't normal to be bleeding from the eyes, nose, and ears.

"Twilight!" she shouted to get her attention, only to be ignored. Whatever Twilight was doing, she couldn't hear her. Undaunted she flew over to her, and touched her on the wither to get her attention.

There was a sudden flash, so sudden she didn't have the time to understand what she'd just seen before pulling her hoof away as if she'd just been burnt. Curiously, she did it again, longer this time. What she saw was Twilight facing off against some dark giant in a clash of magical energies, neither side willing to stand down. On the outside it was all tranquil and whatnot, but on the inside the ground around them was shaking violently, Twilight was shouting orders in what seemed like the Royal Canterlot Voice, and whatever she was facing was shouting back in some language she couldn't recognize.

As she pulled her hoof away again, she could see that Saruman's convulsions were getting worse. Maybe the two were connected. Regardless of whatever the answer was, she wrapped her forelegs around Twilight to pull her away, fearing that if she hesitated, that something really bad was going to happen. Not knowing how much effort it would take, she pulled hard.

The excited squawk that came from Twilight as they both toppled to the ground told Rainbow Dash that she might've used just a bit too much effort to pull her away.

"Rainbow Dash! What're you doing!?" Twilight shrieked as she struggled back onto her hooves, clearly upset with this turn of developments. "Do you have any idea just how dangerous something like that was?" she asked. She'd been holding Sauron's influence at bay, only to be suddenly snapped out of her efforts. There was no telling what kind of damage something like that could've potentially caused. Not only was it dangerous, it was downright stupid.

"Actually, yeah. I think I do," Rainbow Dash replied as she gestured in Saruman's direction. "He was like that while you were in there. Is that supposed to be normal?"

"Oh no!" Twilight gasped as she looked at Saruman. "No that's not normal at all! I don't know what happened, it's like he suddenly experienced a dramatic increase in inter-cranial pressure."

"Meaning what exactly?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Meaning that a lot of pressure was put on his brain while I was trying to remove Sauron. I-it's like his mind couldn't withstand the strain that was being put on it," Twilight stated shakily as she stepped closer to examine him.

"You mean that he... that he might actually be..."

"No," Twilight replied and shook her head, "he's not dead. Not yet anyway. He's still breathing, but I don't know if that's going to continue," she stated.

"We need to get out of here," Rainbow Dash stated quickly, "like right now. We've gotta blow!"

"Rainbow Dash-"

"No, Twilight, you swore we were gonna leave if we lost control of the situation. Well we lost control. There's nothing more we can do here, let's go! We need to get back to Rivendell, quickly. This is way out of our league!" Rainbow Dash stated frantically. "We gotta go before more orcs come by to see what's going on. Come on already!"

Twilight didn't want to leave. The notion that she'd just about killed Saruman in her efforts of freeing him from Sauron's control, and then suddenly abandoning him while he was so weak and vulnerable, simply weren't sitting with her right. But Rainbow Dash was right in her evaluation that they'd lost control of the situation. If they stayed here, there was no telling what could happen. She could do little more than reluctantly nod, and move close to Rainbow Dash to teleport them of Orthanc. They had a long journey ahead of them to get back to Rivendell, and they weren't going to get any closer by standing around and waiting.
> The Council of Elrond
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Council of Elrond


Warm and cozy. That was the best way Twilight could describe how she felt right now. It was relaxing, and she was too tired to want to do anything more than burrow deeper under her covers and...

Her thoughts on the matter ground to a sudden halt as her mind started going to work. Covers? What covers? The last thing she remembered was being in Isengard and facing off against Sauron. What could have happened?

Opening her eyes, she was able to discern two things. The first was that the position of the sun indicated that it was still early in the morning. And the second was that they were back in Rivendell; back in the room she'd been sharing with the others, and tucked into her own bed.

A sudden rumbling against her chest caught her off guard, motivating her to throw back the covers in surprise, and find Rainbow Dash sleeping next to her, head resting against her barrel, her forelegs wrapped firmly around her midsection. Under different circumstances it might've been cute, but this was just confusing.

"What exactly happened last night?" she asked herself.

"We were kinda hopin' ya could tell us that."

At hearing the familiar voice coming from behind, Twilight turned her head and saw Applejack and Gandalf present, both of them looking rather tired, and quite concerned.

"Maybe. But could someone please tell me how I wound up here? The last thing I remember was us landing outside of Isengard," Twilight explained.

"We found you right after you landed. Your friend, Pinkie, seemed to know when you were coming back, and where. Something about feeling a "disturbance in the Force" as she referred to it," Gandalf explained from where he sat.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "Ya passed out right after we found ya. Said somethin' 'bout explaining after ya woke up."

Now that they mentioned that, Twilight did recall something along those lines. It was blurry, but it was still there in her mind; sort of.

"Alright. Now could someone please tell me why Rainbow Dash is sleeping in my bed?" she asked them.

"Because separatin' ya two wasn't an option. Whatever ya two went through must've been perdy bad, 'cuz when we tried ta pry ya both apart, RD bit me good in 'er sleep," Applejack stated, gesturing to the bandaged wrapped around her foreleg.

Gandalf nodded in agreement. He had seen a lot of things in his time, but the degree of protective instinct that Rainbow Dash possessed still managed to amaze him. She had clung protectively to her friend, even when she was unconscious to the point of being unable to even recognize her own surroundings, and unable to be roused, and she still held Twilight close to her as if their lives depending on her forelegs not letting go of her barrel.

"That make sense I guess. Now I remember, she had to fly us out for the last leg of our return trip from Isengard. By that point I was magically exhausted, my aim was way off, and we were falling out of the air. If she hadn't been so quick, I would've crashed into the ground beneath me. After that she took over transportation for the duration," Twilight explained, internally shuddering at the memory of almost hitting the hard ground face first.

"Which brings us back to you being here," Gandalf spoke up,"your note was rather scant on details. But the fact that you are currently present, would suggest that you didn't reach Isengard as you intended."

"Actually we did," Twilight spoke up as she tried to shift her position to better face them, only for Rainbow Dash to snort in her slumber and pull her back down. "We made it to Isengard. We even met with Saruman. Then we came back here."

"You will have to forgive me, but I find that hard to believe," Gandalf stated. He knew Saruman too, too well, to actually believe that he'd simply let them walk away of their own volition. "Saruman's greatest ability isn't so much his magic, but rather his voice. He can be very convincing, making others believe what he wants them to. For you to be here would be enough to suggest that you are operating under his guidance."

"Say wha' now?" Applejack asked as she turned to look at him. Was he insinuating that Twilight and Rainbow Dash were spies or something?

"He's saying that we might be spies for Sauron," Twilight elaborated, doing her best to shift her position in a way that would not only let her hold her neck without getting a cramp, but also not disturb Rainbow Dash enough to pull her back down. "Which is understandable, considering what Saruman's apparently capable of. He wanted us to prove our loyalty by retrieving the ring, and bringing it to him. Naturally we refused. And that's where everything just went so horribly wrong..."

To say Gandalf was having a hard time believing their recounting of events would be an understatement. They had resisted Saruman's voice? How was that possible? Many had fallen to his manipulative abilities; many with wills that were quite strong and steadfast. None of it had made any difference.

"So how'd ya keep from gettin' brainwashed by 'im?" Applejack asked.

"Well at the moment I can only speculate as to the how, but if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that the magic I was using at the time might've cancelled out whatever magic he was using at the time," Twilight theorized. "We didn't just walk into Isengard like we did the Everfree Forest the first time around, we had an army of a few hundred hungry orcs to maneuver our way through."

"Orcs?" Applejack asked.

"I'll explain later. Anyway, trying to sneak through them turned out to be an impossibility, and for a while it looked like we were going to be eaten. So I had to resort to some higher-tier magic to make them more agreeable to the power of suggestion, and convince them that we had an appointment to see Saruman. And I just kept it going all through our discussion in an effort to make Saruman more open to the idea of turning away from Sauron. And when that didn't work we sort of had to resort to... aggressive negotiations..." Twilight admitted sheepishly.

"And pray tell what are these aggressive negotiations that you speak of?" Gandalf asked curiously.

"Ah, well, Rainbow Dash duked it out with the orc that was present, while I went after Saruman in a battle of magic. And while that was successful enough, the end result was... less than satisfactorily I'm afraid," Twilight admitted. "When I went to Isengard, the intention was to bring Saruman back over to our side against Sauron. I tried to expel Sauron's influence from his mind, thinking that would work. But it didn't. Sauron's will is unlike anything I've ever experienced before in my life, and required all of my will just to stand evenly with him. His influence was so tightly intertwined around Saruman's mind, it was impossible to separate the two. It's possible that I might've succeeded if I had more time. But it was leading to an increase in inter-cranial pressure on Saruman. If Rainbow Dash hadn't pulled me away when she had, he would've died as a result of what he was being subjected to. It's... it's possible that he wound up dying anyway. The condition he was in when we left, there was so much blood everywhere, it..."

She had to stop talking at that point, unable to continue. The hitch in her voice as she spoke was a clear indicator that if she went on with trying to explain, she was going to lose what composure she currently had.

Saruman... dead? Gandalf didn't want to admit it, but the thought of that being a possibility had shocked him; more so than he cared to admit. Even though he had betrayed Middle Earth, that did nothing to change their past together. He hadn't wished death upon Saruman, even in light of what his betrayal would mean. And yet... it was a distinct possibility that death had claimed him one way or another. If that were the case, then Sauron had been robbed of a powerful ally. But could one little pony truly achieve such a feat? And through what sounded like an unfortunate accident?

"I did learn something, however. Saruman aligned with Sauron for the purpose of betraying him, and bringing his organization down from the inside," Twilight explained, interrupting Gandalf's thoughts on the matter.

"Wait. So Saruman's on our side after all?" Applejack asked.

Twilight shook her head solemnly. "No. When I was locked in a battle of wills against Sauron, I saw things; lots of things. Lots of... unpleasant things. Sauron was fully aware of Saurman's intent to betray him, and he didn't care. Instead he allowed Saruman to continue operating under the belief that his betrayal was always a viable option. I'm afraid at that point in time, Saruman was little more than Sauron's marionette, operating under the illusion that he still had free will, and could make his own decisions."

Gandalf was at a loss for words in light of all this information. It didn't surprise him that Sauron could corrupt someone so thoroughly with such ease, but to actually hear it confirmed simply added a new weight to everything. Saruman had talked about how the eye of Sauron pierced all, surely he had to know that his treacherous intents would be found out.

He wanted to offer Twilight some words of comfort, or even advice that might help her with what she was going through right now. But the unfortunate truth was that he had none to offer up. He was as lost as everyone else was on this matter. He wanted to advise her to rest up, but today was going to be far too busy to afford her that luxury. she would simply have to make do with a bath and some breakfast.

And he was going to need to speak to Lord Elrond about all of this. There was no way that he could be kept out of the loop on what has transpired; especially if it was true that Saruman was dead. If that was the case, then that changed everything drastically.



Later in the day, the council was confirmed- along with the fact that only the ponies would be allowed to attend the meeting, much to Spike's displeasure.

Frodo was also attending the council, but much like Spike, Sam, Merry, and Pippin had been left out. "Oh, don't worry," he had told them, trying to be comforting. "It'll probably be quite dull, anyway; I say, I won't be able to stay awake for too long!"

Even if it was supposed to be dull, Spike couldn't help but think, at least they would all know what's going on. As it was there was way too much secrecy in place.

On the brighter side, Spike managed to find Bilbo Baggins, who had traveled to Rivendell after disappearing from the Shire weeks ago. The fact that he looked so much older now than before wasn't lost to him.

He had many interesting stories to tell him, although he was not attending the council either, but that was a decision he had made himself. Elrond himself had implored the hobbit to come, but Bilbo had refused, stating that he was far too tired for such.

So, around one o' clock that day, Twilight and the others bade Spike a goodbye, and disappeared onto the open area where the council was placed. The baby dragon sulked, staring out the window at the lovely scenery.

It did nothing for his spirit.

"Hey!" It was Merry and Pippin responsible for the call. "You certainly look dispirited. What say we teach you how to eavesdrop?"

He whirled about at this. "Are you serious?" Spike asked. The baby dragon had briefly considered trying to eavesdrop, but then abandoned the idea. Eavesdropping on your crush while a stallion was flirting with her was one thing; listening in on an important secret council was another matter entirely. "If I was caught eavesdropping, Twilight will give me a verbal thrashing I'll never forget!" He said.

"Oh, do you always do what you're told?" Pippin asked. Spike cocked an eyebrow at this.

"According to Twilight, I do," he said.

"Are you coming, or what?" Merry asked. "Sam's already in there, and the council's about to begin!" Spike and Pippin exchanged brief, tense looks.

"Alright," Spike said and nodded.

"Good. Spike, you circle around the platform. You'll find Sam back there. And for the love of pipeweed, Spike, don't get caught!"

Spike followed Pippin's instructions, and dropped down from a low window onto the soft earth, and crouched to avoid being seen. He pressed up against the side of the platform, and edged around to find Sam.

"Ah, you're here. We've got a pretty good spot- should be able to hear everything," Sam said, his voice carrying a tone that suggested the dragon's presence had been expected. Spike moved to look over the top of the porch, but Sam instantly pulled him back down. "Are you mad? You'll be seen!" he hissed.

"But I can't see!" he whispered back.

"The faces don't matter- it's the voices and what they say. We're looking for information. Not new friends," the gardener said solemnly. On the other side of the area, Merry and Pippin were crouched behind two pillars. The council was about to begin.



Meanwhile, as the spies went to work doing what they did best, the ponies uneasily took seats next to Gandalf and Frodo. Twilight was between the wizard and her friends, but Rainbow Dash was next to Glorfindel. Everyone sat down, and suddenly became quiet. When all was settled, the ponies took time to observe the guests.

They all seemed to be arranged by race- men, dwarves, elves, and them. The humans looked quite normal, judging from Twilight's descriptions of humans during her visit to the world on the other side of the mirror, except for their clothing. The elves were very fair, and most of them had long, straight hair. The dwarves, naturally, were shorter than the others, and had bushy hair and beards. Many guests they recognized: Frodo, Gandalf, Strider, and Glorfindel. Some they remembered seeing at the high table the night before, and only a couple of faces were new to them.

One of them was another man, broad in the shoulders and firm in countenance. The most distinguishing part of him was the great horn at his side. None of them really cared to speculate as to where it had come from.

There were first introductions. The ponies' introductions were short and vague, earning them many curious looks from others in the council who did not know their story. The man with the horn, they found out, was Boromir all the way from Gondor. Wherever that was.

Finally, Lord Elrond stood up, and all slight whispering ceased. All looked to Elrond with unmistakable respect in their eyes, and the ponies knew he must truly be a wise ruler to get immediate respect from all three races, even the dwarves, all of whom seemed a bit dodgy when near an elf.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old, you've been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor."

At this, Rarity turned to Fluttershy and mouthed 'Mordor?" Fluttershy shrugged lightly, not even noticing the dull twinge in her head from where she met the stone wall back at Weathertop. Elrond noticed this interaction out of the corner of his eye, and then realized that most of the ponies had no idea what he was talking about. He would have to explain the story.

"Middle Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite, or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom. Ages ago, rings were crafted for the leaders of each race- three for the elves, seven for the dwarves, and nine for men." Glancing over and now seeing the incredibly confused looks on the ponie's faces, except for Twilight who had read this information back in the Rivendell library, he continued.

"These rings gave them the power and will to govern each race. But also, one other ring was created. A master ring, to control all others was created by Sauron the Deceiver, Lord of Mordor." The ponies noticed several people looking very uncomfortable at the mention of Sauron and Mordor. "The ring was lost when Sauron was defeated towards the end of the Second Age- and now, it has resurfaced. That is why we have all gathered here this day."

"This is boring," Rainbow Dash muttered to Applejack. "I didn't know that by 'council' they meant a history lesson."

Applejack nodded only slightly so as to draw as little attention to herself as possible. "Ah have no idea jus' what they are talking about," she whispered back. "It doesn' make much of a difference ta me, all o' this. Ah'll help in any way Ah can, but Ah don' really need ta know all of this."

An old dwarf stood up and started to speak. "Many years ago, a longing kindled the hearts of our people. Some spoke of the halls of Moria, the greatest mansions of dwarves ever to come. Ah, how our hearts yearned for our home of old! One of my close kin, Balin, listened to the whispers, and decided to go to Moria. He took with him my kinsmen Ori and Oin, and many others.

"At first, we received good news: they began working there as soon as they reached Moria. And then there was silence. No messengers came, no news, nothing. That was many, many years ago. We have not heard from them ever since. What befell them, I cannot say." With that, the old dwarf sat down.

Rarity tapped Twilight's shoulder. "Do you happen to know just what Moria is?" Twilight shook her head.

A younger dwarf then stood up and started speaking.

"Less than a year ago, we had a messenger. Not from Moria, but from Mordor." At this, the eyes of many of the attendees grew dark. Rainbow Dash glanced at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. That sounded pretty foreboding to her. "He was clothed in black, and there was a fell air about him. He asked us of the Lonely Mountain to aid his master, 'Sauron the Great' in a 'trifle' matter."

The ponies were greatly reminded of a Ringwraith with the dwarf's description of the messenger.

"He asked us for news of hobbits. He said that his master was looking for a thief by the name of Baggins, who had stolen but a simple ring that he fancied."

The ponies turned as one to look at Frodo, who was nervously shuffling his hairy feet.

"Our reward, if we were to aid him, would be three of the seven dwarven Rings of Power, and the whole realm of Moria. If we refused, things would 'not go well' according to him. Dain, the King Under the Mountain, said to give him time to think about the offer. The messenger said he had not much time and rode off. He has been back two times since, and the next time he comes he expects an answer. That is why Dain sent me, Gimli, and my father, Gloin, to Lord Elrond, who we heard is wise in this course of matter, and perhaps could give us answers." Gimli sat back down.

Elrond nodded solemnly. "You were wise to come to me on this issue." He turned his attention back to the Council. "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo," Elrond beckoned to Frodo, who looked noticeably uncomfortable.

Frodo stood up, slowly and reluctantly, put the Ring down on the stone pedestal. Everyone present at the council felt a slight tug at their hearts when they gazed at the Ring. Those most affected by it's power were the Men. Rainbow Dash could not help but stare at the piece of jewelry. What a beautiful golden color it was... so smooth, so perfect, nothing like any other ring she had seen before.

Boromir also felt a very great need for it, but for another reason; it was a beautiful, precious thing, of course, but if what Elrond spoke was true, the Ring could save Gondor.

"In a dream," he said quietly. "I saw the eastern sky grow dark... but in the west, a pale light lingered." He started moving towards the table. "A voice was crying: 'Your doom is near at hand. Isildur's bane is found.'" He reached for the Ring, and the ponies tensed. "Isildur's bane..." Without warning, Elrond jumped to his feet and yelled "BOROMIR!" Just as Gandalf also rose from his seat and cried,

"Ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul. Ash nazg thrakatuluk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!" He thundered.

The area grew dark, seemed to rumble with Gandalf's voice. Rarity gasped and clutched Twilight's foreleg; her friends were noticeably tense. The elves all stopped their ears, and Boromir instantly returned to his seat, getting the idea he shouldn't have moved in the first place. Gandalf fell silent, and the sun returned. The ponies let out a breath.

Those words had instilled a strange sort of terror and foreboding in them, that they could not readily understand. Nearby, Elrond turned to look at Gandalf, and frowned suddenly. Had he just heard a whimpering noise? Perhaps it was Fluttershy, he reasoned.

Little did he know, not far off, Sam had a hand slapped over Spike's mouth. "Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imaldris."

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond," Gandalf said gruffly as he returned to his seat. "For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is all together evil!" he said, glaring at everyone assembled.

"It is a gift," said the man called Boromir, who had started the outburst.

Twilight was left wondering if the man knew when to stop talking. 'When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging,' Princess Celestia had always told her. Apparently that phrase didn't exist here. Maybe if his throat were paralyzed?

"A gift to the foes of Mordor. Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people, are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy; let us use it against him!"

Twilight opened her mouth to inform Boromir just how STUPID such a suggestion was, as she knew better than anypony how uncontrollable dark magic could be. And if this ring wasn't dark magic in its truest sense, she didn't know what was.

But before she could give him a verbal beat down, however, Strider was already speaking.

"You cannot wield it!" Strider interupted. "The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master," he said.

Twilight was grateful that Strider had spoken- he seemed a sensible man. And more eloquent than she could be right now. If she had tried making the point, she would've just been shouting, unable to properly articulate what was just said.

"And what," Boromir said coldly, "would a Ranger know of this matter?"

"He is no mere Ranger," said a blonde elf, suddenly rising from his seat. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

If the ponies had been confused before, they were totally lost now.

"This," Boromir said, sounding very much like he tasted something horrible and couldn't get it off his tongue, "Is Isildur's heir?"

Okay, things were just a bit clearer now.

"And heir to the throne of Gondor," the elf added.

To say the ponies were surprised by this news would be an understatement. They had all assumed that the scruffy-looking Strider was just a scoundrel of questionable trust. But to find out that he was the descendant of a king... well that was quite a discovery to be had indeed.

"Well Ah guess that explains a few things," Applejack mumbled to herself.

"Havo dad, Legolas," Strider, or Aragorn, said uneasily, seeing that things were going in a downward spiral. The elf, Legolas, sat down, and Boromir gave Aragorn a positively frigid look.

"Gondor has no king," he said stiffly. "Gondor needs no king." He sat down, and refused to acknowledge Aragorn.

"That was rather rude," Fluttershy murmured, speaking for the first time she dared.

"Aragorn is right," Gandalf said, bringing them back on track. "We cannot use it. The agents of Sauron are already tracking it down." More murmurs broke out at this statement, and Elrond picked up on it immediately.

"There is only one choice," Lord Elrond said, addressing the council again. "The Ring must be destroyed."

Rainbow Dash kept silent on the matter, but she disagreed with the elf's statement. Intellectually she knew that it was the ring influencing her, and without it they'd all be better off. But that didn't mean that she could just so easily let it go. Curse its corrupting influence, she simply wanted it for the power that it possessed.

Suddenly, Gimli stood up. "Then what are we waiting for?" He snarled, picking up his axe.

"Mr. Gimli, wait!" Twilight spoke up in an effort to stop the dwarf from doing something stupid, already knowing where this was going. "My assistant, Spike, already tried destroying the ring himself. The ring survived a sustained blast of 2,000 degrees of heat that melted wrought iron. I don't think an axe strike would do much better," she warned.

"We shall see about that," Gimli stated, dismissing the warning out of hand. He took two steps forward, raised the axe, and brought it down in a mighty arc onto the Ring.

Sparks flew as the axe head was shattered on impact, Gimli being sent flying back off his feet. Quick as a flash, Pinkie had moved from her seat to behind him, and caught him before he could hit the ground.

As Pinkie helped Gimli back onto his feet, Rainbow Dash stood up, looking for the broken pieces of the Ring. She was rather surprised, and admittedly somewhat relieved, that the Ring lay still on the pedestal in one piece, and sat back down. The ponies, except Pinkie, glanced at Rainbow Dash, and then back at the Ring, also amazed that it was not destroyed.

While they could not admit it to themselves, or one another they too were a bit relieved by the results of Gimli's attempt.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft we here possess," Lord Elrond said. And going by what their otherworldly guests had told them, those crafts included potent magic as well. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came. One of you must do this," he said, looking at all present.

The council fell into a dead silence for a few moments. Boromir broke it, saying, "one does not simply walk into Mordor," in a low voice.

"Well what about flying instead?" Rainbow Dash suggested.

Boromir ignored her as he continued. "Its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. The Great Eye is ever watchful." Everyone stared at him, captivated. "It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire, ash and dust. The very air you breathe, is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly."

"Alright, I agree with him," Rainbow Dash added. "Going there sounds like a suicide mission to me."

Legolas stared at Rainbow Dash and Boromir with disbelief. "Have you heard nothing that Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

"Rainbow, have ya not been listening? Why agree with him anyway?" Applejack asked her friend, agitated by Rainbow Dash's argument and more by the fact that part of her agreed with it.

"Because I'm not in the mood for dying right now. Are you?" Rainbow Dash asked, annoyed like she had to explain a basic concept to someone who should full well understand it. "Seriously, the air's poisonous! We can't contend with that!"

"Oh, and I suppose that you think you are the one to do it?" Gimli confronted Legolas, standing up to challenge him.

"Boromir, it cannot be used or even hidden; it must be destroyed," Aragorn added firmly.

"I'm not entirely sure about that," Twilight stated. The part about hiding the ring struck her as being a possibility, and she had a theory for how to go about trying it. That was if anyone would listen to her.

"And what happens if we fail?" Boromir snapped. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?"

"I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an elf!"

Chaos erupted upon Gimli's cry. The elves, offended, jumped up and yelling angrily at the dwarf, held back only by Legolas. The men and other dwarves stood up and started to argue furiously. Aragorn and Boromir argued heatedly, Applejack and Rainbow Dash were nearly screaming at each other, and Pinkie just yelled random things just for the sake of yelling. Twilight and Rarity were shocked, and Fluttershy was quivering in terror and despair. Gandalf sighed and shook his head, looking disappointed. Then he tried to restore order, only to become a part of the fray himself.

Twilight looked around at the chaos, and suddenly, her eyes landed on Frodo. He was pale, and looked very distressed. He was staring at the Ring and rubbing his forehead.

"Frodo?" She said, standing up and going over to him. "Frodo? Are you all right?"

Frodo did not respond. She gently shook his arm and spoke to him again, but still he said nothing. Rarity and Fluttershy were hanging back with Elrond and Glorfindel, two of the only people that hadn't joined in the fight. Twilight looked to them, and then looked at the Ring. Was that the reason why he looked so worried and upset?

"Frodo?" She said again. Just then, Frodo turned and met her eyes. There was a hint of something in there she couldn't identify- strength, perhaps?

"I will take it!" He cried. Twilight was the first to hear him over the din, mainly due to proximity. The others, however, seemed to either pay him no attention, or simply hadn't heard him.

The constant yelling, and arguing back and forth over an evil artifact, was wearing down her composure greatly. She could feel her right eye twitching in frustration, and she was certain a vein in her forehead was starting to become visible. Finally she'd reached the point where she simply couldn't take anymore.

"EVERYONE OF YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!"

The sudden, booming voice had carried far more fury than Gandalf's exercising of the black speech just moments ago; a feat impressive in and of itself.

Everyone immediately stopped their bickering, and turned to witness as Twilight's eyes shined brightly enough to be whited out, her mane flying wildly from an unfelt breeze blowing in every direction. All the while she was seething through gritted teeth as she glared at them.

"All of you. If you can't quit bickering like children, then all of you shut up, and let the adults speak!"

And just like that it all stopped. Her eyes returned to normal, her mane fell back down, and her body posture wasn't so hard. With that done, she gestured with her foreleg over to Frodo.

Boromir, however, was not in the mood. "And with what authority does a pony assume to speak above all others?"

Twilight frowned back at Boromir. "On the authority that while you were all sleeping safely in your beds last night, I was in Isengard facing down both Saruman and Sauron by myself!" she stated, wanting to make it quite clear that she was in no mood to be trifled with.

Hushed -and some not so hushed- mumbled erupted from most of those present at her declaration.

"I've seen things. Things that a mere man such as yourself couldn't hope to understand; things that would scar your mind if you encountered them yourself. And I'm here to tell you that you seriously underestimate what Sauron is capable of, if you think that ring would let you use it against the one who created it! The fact that I'm still walking around after what I've been through, should tell you all that you need to know at this point, about what authority I assume to speak with!"

Not a word was uttered as Twilight panted to catch her breath. She was very thankful for that fact, as she didn't want to get into another shouting match about who knew what. Nodding as she panted, she turned to Frodo, and gestured for him to step forward.

Frodo, after recovering from his shock, and realizing that he now had the floor, looked all of them in the eye. "I will take the Ring to Mordor," he said softly. "Though..." he hesitated, his tone losing some of its potency, "I do not know the way. Bilbo's maps were not exactly precise about that piece territory..."

"I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins," Said Gandalf, stepping forward from where he had been arguing with Boromir earlier on. "As long as it is yours to bear."

Aragorn nodded, wanting to move things along. "If by my life or death I can protect you, I will!" He walked over to Frodo and stood by him. "You have my sword." The rest of the ponies went to stand next to Twilight, and Rarity nudged her. She turned, and they saw Gandalf and Elrond sharing a knowing look.

"And you have my bow," said Legolas, stepping in.

"And my axe," Gimli added, sending a piercing glare to the elf.

Boromir slowly approached Frodo; mainly because of his proximity to Twilight. He didn't want to admit it, but that pony possessed a fury most soldiers did not. And if her bold claims were indeed true...

"You carry the fates of us all, little one. If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

"HERE!" Someone cried. And to everyone's surprise, Sam and Spike came out of their hiding spots and ran up next to Frodo.

"Spike!" Twilight cried. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Spike gave Twilight a sheepish smile in response at being caught. Meanwhile, Sam looked at Gandalf and Elrond and crossed his arms.

"Mr. Frodo's not going anywhere without me," he said.

"Me neither," Spike added.

"No, indeed it is hard to separate you, even when he is summoned to a secret council and you are not." Lord Elrond said with a raised eyebrow.

"Spike-" Twilight said, clearly intending to shoot down his idea.

"No! Frodo's our friend, and I want to help him any way I can! Don't try to stop me!" Spike said, glaring at Twilight. "You can ground me if you want, but it's gonna have to wait until we get home."

"Spike, this is far too dangerous," Twilight said firmly, not liking this one bit. "And we have to get home! Princess Celestia is probably searching for us by now!"

Spike simply shook his head and backed up closer to Frodo.

"You don't have to, Spike. I'm not asking you to," Frodo said.

"You don't have to ask. This is what friends do," Spike said simply. "Besides, you guys might need a dragon for something or another."

Twilight turned to Gandalf and Elrond, pleading silently for help. The two men merely shrugged.

"I'm afraid that, on this level, we have no authority," Gandalf said. "Spike is your assistant, and without your Princess Celestia here, you are responsible for him." Twilight groaned.

"I... I'd like to help too..." Someone said. Everyone turned to see Fluttershy standing there, staring at the ground.

"Oh, Fluttershy, not you too..." Twilight moaned, putting a hoof over her face.

"And you're not going anywhere without me!" Rainbow Dash commented boisterously, lightly stepping through the crowd of people to Frodo. "We've been through a lot together, dude, and we can accomplish even more awesome things." Rainbow Dash grinned to the hobbit, and Frodo just shook his head and smiled.

"Eh, why not. Count me in too," added Applejack, stepping up beside Rainbow Dash. "Ya were right kind ta us when we first came here, an' hopefully ah'll be able ta repay that kindness," she muttered to the hobbit.

"Me too!" Pinkie stated as she bounced over to where the others stood. "This isn't my usual kind of party, but a party is still a party!"

Rarity just closed her eyes and shook her head. Without offering up an explanation, she calmly walked over and stood with the others. If they were going along for this mission, she might as well too. She couldn't, in good conscience, leave them to do something like this on their own. And if Princess Celestia were to show up to take them back home, she wasn't about to go back to Equestria without them.

"We're coming too!" And just then, Merry and Pippin ran up, jumping in next to Frodo and Spike. Spike gave Twilight a pleading look.

"Oh... alright..." Twilight said and sighed. These ponies might be crazy, but they were still her friends. She wasn't about to lose them; not after she'd seen Sauron for herself, and felt what he was capable of. "If you'll permit us to go, Lord Elrond."

The Elf-Lord smiled. "Of course," he said.

"Yes! After all, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission... quest... thing!" Pippin said. Merry cocked an eyebrow and looked at him, and Gandalf rolled his eyes.

"Well, that rules you out, Pip," Merry mumbled.

"Ah reckon it rules most of us out," Applejack chuckled, knowing that Twilight was the only real smart one around here.

Elrond looked at them all.

"Sixteen companions," He mused out loud as Twilight joined her friends. "You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring." The Elf-Lord declared.

"Great!" Pippin said. "So. Where are we going?"

"You don't want to know..." Twilight mumbled to herself. They were all discussing this whole thing with an attitude far more appropriate for crashing a birthday party, than for storming the gates of Mordor. "Maybe it's a good thing I'm coming along. Apparently I'm one of the few present who actually has some concept of what we're facing."

"Hey, hey," Rainbow Dash spoke up and poked Twilight's side with her wing. "Tell them about Ragnarok and the rest of those orc things."

"Oh. Right," Twilight replied and nodded.

"Orc things?" Boromir asked.

Twilight nodded in confirmation. "Isengard hasn't been sitting idly by on its duff, waiting for Sauron to do everything himself. Saruman was quite busy."

As her horn glowed, and her magic went to work, everyone became aware of something being displayed over the stone pedestal the ring had been perched on just moments ago.

"Saruman calls them Uruk-Hai, elite orcs bred to excel where others have failed, their weaknesses to sunlight and such being refined right out of them, although I don't understand how he did that. They've been built from the ground up to be a force to contend with. Very strong, very aggressive, very resilient to physical damage," she explained, a rough image of an Uruk-Hai being displayed for all to see. "Saruman was quite proud of his creations; to the point he was openly bragging about them while we conversed."

No one said a word in response to this statement.

"That said, they're not without their own weaknesses. While the enhanced musculature they possess makes them quite durable, it also hinders their mobility. In technical terms they're overbuilt, to the point it slows them down, and denies them a full range a movement compared to a man. The neck alone, while protected against the possibility of the spinal cord being snapped, prevents them from being able to turn their heads very far in either direction. In addition to this, their armaments are crudely forged from both cast and wrought iron as opposed to steel, meaning a need for much greater weight for comparable results to be had, slowing them down even further. On top of which, is the fact that there simply isn't time for these hundreds -if not possibly thousands- of orcs being mass produced, to be trained like proper soldiers who have years of experience."

The display cut out once all the relevant information had been given.

"Their primary strength seems to rely purely on shock and awe, and in overwhelming quantity to make up for the abysmal lack of individual quality. And I do mean abysmal. For all of their strength, Rainbow Dash was able to utterly dominate in a one-on-one battle, thanks in no small part to the fact that she possesses a much fuller range of movement," Twilight concluded.

"He never even had a chance," Rainbow Dash stated proudly, wings flaring as she grinned while mimicking the uppercut she'd used to knock the orc out cold in their encounter. She'd mopped the floor with him while Twilight did her thing against Sauron and Saruman; the two sour pusses as she liked to put it, since it was easier to remember that way.

"Dominating combat against an unskilled opponent completely at your mercy. Most certainly a high mark, worthy of utter respect," Boromir replied sarcastically. "You must be proud."

Rainbow Dash set back down on her hooves and frowned at Boromir for that crack. But one glare from Twilight was enough to shut her up before she could verbally retaliate.

"If she is, then she deserves to be. When the hordes outside of Orthanc saw us fleeing, it was her maneuvering skills that kept us from being made into pin cushions by their crossbows," Twilight stated.

"Crossbows?" Legolas asked.

Twilight nodded in response. "Sauron is obviously seeking to supplement the lack of quality control, with mechanical intervention."

Legolas' displeasure over this announcement didn't go unnoticed by Rainbow Dash. But why exactly the elf cared was something she couldn't understand. Right now she was just glad for the vote in confidence Twilight had given her in the wake of Boromir's disregard for her accomplishments.

Over where he sat, Elrond listened in silence. While the method utilized in acquiring this information was unorthodox, and quite dangerous, it was undeniable that they would all be better off, now that they knew about what Isengard was up to. These Uruk-Hai were bound to pose problems for all of them, meaning that they would have to proceed with great caution.

And with that caution, came an undeniable fact about the newly formed Fellowship; they were all quite rough around the edges, and had a tendency to bicker with one another. That simply wouldn't do. They were going to need to learn how to bond, if they were going to have any hope of success in this mission.



Legolas and Gimli looked ready to stick their heads in a bowl of pudding before looking at one another. When they were forced to, however, one would deal the other a positively evil look. Boromir was still acting terribly icy towards Aragorn, and refused to acknowledge the Ranger's presence. The hobbits were nervous, and Gandalf seemed a bit on edge himself.

Applejack was feeling extensively stressed, particularly with Rainbow Dash. How could that crazy agree to not destroy the Ring? So, being so terribly nervous and on edge, she began to get just a little irritable. And that slight spark of irritation would prove to be the beginning of a rather entertaining night, she was certain of that.

"Rainbow, quit leanin' on the table, it's rude manners." She hadn't even realized- much less cared- that she'd said it. It was a minor observation. Rainbow Dash must've been in a good mood, because her reply was as sarcastic as before they came to Middle Earth.

"Yes, Mom," she grumbled. The rest of the Equestrian visitors took in a sharp breath.

Now, keep in mind, everyone at the table was too polite to stare at the two friends. They glanced casually out of the corners of their eyes, but they didn't watch outright. But these were the first words spoken that evening, and some- mainly Gandalf and Aragorn- were looking for the opportunity to get some friendly conversation started.

Unfortunately, this wasn't exactly the best conversation-starter to be had.

Spike and the others knew a fight was coming on from the instant Rainbow Dash opened her mouth. "Applejack..." Twilight whispered in a pleading tone, "please don't..."

"Honestly, Rainbow," Applejack growled, ignoring her completely. "Can't ya grow up?"

"Shut your face," Rainbow Dash hissed.

NOW they were attracting stares. Fluttershy went bright red and covered her face with her hooves, sliding down in her seat. Things were about to get ugly, and she knew it.

"Is everything all right, you two?"

Twilight could have kissed Aragorn for his intervention, if she didn't know it wouldn't help. Applejack didn't look at the older man, instead glaring at her rainbow-maned friend.

"Everything's jus' fine. If Rainbow wants ta prove that she's a featherbrained idiot, Ah won' stop her." Applejack said coldly.

"Why don't you go buck a tree, tree bucker?" Rainbow Dash snarled.

Applejack snorted in response. "Tha's the best ya got?" she asked.

"Well if you'd like, I could make a crack about you and your brother doing some unsavory things," Rainbow Dash offered up and wiggled her eyebrows.

"THAT'S IT!"

SLAM

Everyone jumped, and now all eyes turned to Twilight. The -usually- calm, cool and collected Alicorn now had a barely veiled expression of pure fury on her features. This was even worse than what they'd experienced back in the council when she'd made everyone stop arguing.

"The both of you- outside," she said in a low, dangerous tone as she bristled furiously. "NOW!"

Applejack and Rainbow Dash stood up, refusing to meet each other's eyes, and left the hall. Twilight followed them, nearly slamming the door behind her as she too left the hall.

Fluttershy whimpered in embarrassment. "Sorry..." she whispered to them all. "Applejack and Rainbow Dash... well... they... have problems... sometimes..."

"It's quite alright, Fluttershy," Boromir said quietly. "One can't expect friends to get along all the time."

Gandalf chuckled at this.

"Yes... you would know, wouldn't you, Boromir? You and Faramir certainly had some nasty disputes when you were children, eh?" the wizard said. Fluttershy looked up.

"You have a brother?" she asked curiously. Boromir nodded.

"Yes. My younger brother, Faramir; my polar opposite in almost every way. Bookish, pacifist-"

"Quiet," Gandalf added softly under his breath. "Well-behaved." Boromir flushed, and Fluttershy and Rarity giggled.

The Fellowship turned to see Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack coming in. To everyone's surprise, Applejack and Rainbow Dash looked both embarrassed and humbled at the same time, each of them walking with a flinch with each step they took. Twilight looked pleased, if not a bit stressed. They all returned to their seats in silence, although the two formerly bickering ponies had a bit of trouble with sitting down silently, and now the others openly stared at them.

"Er... sorry 'bout that," Applejack said softly.

"It's alright," Aragorn said. There was a long pause, and everyone went back to what they were doing.

Suddenly, Twilight spoke.

"Rainbow Dash, pass Applejack the salt," she said tonelessly.

"That's alright, Ah don't need any-" Applejack began. But she caught sight of the look on Twilight's face, and she froze. "... On second thought... Ah have a sudden craving..." Shakily, she accepted the salt from Rainbow Dash, and scooted her seat a little farther away from Twilight's. There was suddenly a small noise. A choked sort of noise, like someone had gotten caught on something while swallowing.

It was Pippin. He had a fist over his mouth, and was looking away so no one could see him snickering. Applejack and Rainbow Dash gave the hobbit venomous looks. "What, if I may ask, is so funny, Pippin?" Rainbow Dash gritted out through clenched teeth.

"Y-You two," The hobbit giggled. "I haven't seen anyone so terrified since Lobelia Sackville-Baggins came to visit Hobbiton!" There was a collective groan from Frodo, Sam and Merry.

"The night was getting so pleasant, Pip," Merry grumbled. "Why'd you have to bring old Lobelia up?"

"Honest!" Pippin choked. "Frodo! Do you recall, after Bilbo left, she came to your house?"

"I'm still trying to forget that little incident," Frodo mumbled.

"We're not terrified!" Applejack snapped.

"Yes, you are!"

"No, we're not!"

"Yes- You- Are!" Just then, Pippin began to pound his fist on the table as he laughed. But, on total accident, his fist hit his spoon, which happened to be buried in a clump of mashed potatoes. It had a catapult effect, and sprung up to hurl a lump of mashed potatoes into Merry's cheek. The other hobbit yelped and turned to glare at his cousin, who was now laughing even harder than before.

"YOU-!" And then, Merry did only what comes naturally to one whom has just been assaulted with mashed potatoes- he grabbed a handful of peas, and smashed them into Pippin's hair and face.

"OF ALL THE TROUBLE-MAKING-" Gandalf roared, jumping to his feet.

Bad idea.

Pippin had retaliated as well- only, it missed Merry and hit Gandalf, who fell back in surprise and knocked into Applejack, who smashed her elbow into her plate of food. She slid into Twilight, who consequently fell to the floor.

"Hey!" Applejack snapped, giving Pippin an angry glare. But, just then, a handful of... something... hit the side of her head. Growling, she looked up to see Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Spike with pseudo-innocent looks on their faces.

Getting into the swing of things, Merry chucked a handful of food at Pinkie, who shrieked in delight and retaliated. Her retaliation hit Legolas in the side of the face; in turn, his elbow slammed down onto a spoon that was filled with soup. Like Pippin's opening blow earlier, the spoon had the same catapult effect- splashing a load of soup into Gimli's face.

"You know what this means, right?" Spike asked, knowing what was about to transpire.

"Food fight!" Pinkie screamed delightedly.



Later, a majority of the Fellowship was lined up before Lord Elrond and Glorfindel. Elrond was shaking his head disapprovingly, and Glorfindel was just snickering helplessly under his breath.

"You are all quite aware," Elrond said, rubbing his temples, "that when I asked you to bond, I did not intend for you to go to this particular... extreme measure..."

For indeed, everyone was a mess. Splattered with food, and seeming very fatigued, fifteen of the Fellowship members had gotten deeply into the food fight before Lord Elrond came in to see what all of the various crashing and screaming noises were about.

Needless to say, he was not pleased with the sight that greeted him.

"We apologize, Master Elrond. For our immaturity," Gandalf said, ashamed. For he, too, had flung a potato or two at Merry and Pippin when the opportunity had presented itself. After all, when would he find an opportunity like THAT again?

"Pippin started it," Boromir grumbled, pulling a clump of pudding out of his hair.

"And be mad at him," Elrond said tersely. "Because you will all be bonding further as you clean up this mess."

Everyone turned and gave Pippin a positively evil look. He grinned sheepishly, unable to do anything else.

"Er... I'll go get started, then," he said, quickly ducking into the other room. As the others trudged in, Elrond pulled Gandalf aside and whispered to him.

"The most dignified, responsible, well-behaved beings you've ever seen. I believe those were your exact words, Gandalf?" Gandalf grunted.

"First of all," he said, "you do not know the ponies and dragons I've seen in the past. These seven are Gods compared to some. Second of all, everyone must have their moments of spontaneity, don't they?"

Just then, they saw Applejack shove Rainbow Dash face-first into a puddle of pudding dripping from the wall. They exchanged brief looks.

"And third... I can be wrong, can't I?"



"You are a seamstress?"

Rarity looked up at the sound of the voice behind her. Being the only one with enough sense to excuse herself at the preliminary signs of a food fight threatening to break out, she was the only one on cleanup duty voluntarily. That meant she could afford to step away from her task if needed.

And at the moment, being addressed by Arwen seemed to warrant stepping away from mopping the floor.

"Er, a bit more than that actually. But for all intents and purposes, yes I am," she replied. "Don't let the hooves fool you, darling, I'm a master with needle and thread."

"Per chance would you be able to make me a dress?" Arwen asked.

Rarity's ears perked up, her eyes lighting up at the question she was being presented with. Being asked by a respected member of a new race to create a dress, specifically for her? Already her mind was kicking into high gear over the possibilities this could generate.

"Oh, darling, you have no idea what I can do!"



For Gandalf it had been a very long, very eventful day, and his old bones were letting him know that they weren't happy at him for all the strain they'd been under. Apparently getting into a food fight, even if it was all in good fun, wasn't a good idea after all. The newly formed Fellowship had certainly bonded with one another, even if it was in an unorthodox manner.

Regardless of such facts, he was glad that it was time to rest. Tomorrow was going to be the start of a long, harrowing journey for them all. They were going to be getting an early start tomorrow, meaning they needed to rest up while they could. And he was going to take full advantage of that fact, right here, and right now.

And then came a knocking at his chamber door. Again.

"Gandalf? Are you awake?"

This time around, however, the knock was far softer, less frantic, and accompanied by the voice of Twilight, rather than Fluttershy. At least there was that.

Once again, he got up from his bed, and made his way over to the door to open it for his guest. The sooner this was resolved, whatever it was, the sooner he could get some sleep.

"To what do I owe the honor of royalty visiting me at such an hour?" he asked.

"Did I wake you up? I'm sorry. I just... couldn't sleep. Something's weighing pretty heavily on my mind, and I didn't know who else to turn to," Twilight explained.

Sensing that this was more than a simple visit, Gandalf ushered the Alicorn inside. "What seems to be the trouble?"

"Do you trust Elrond?"

Gandalf had to stop and blink at hearing the question. Out of all the things he hadn't expected to hear, that was certainly up there.

"How do you mean?" he asked, hoping to get some clarification.

"Do you trust him? I mean do you really, really trust him?" she asked.

"Where exactly is this coming from?" Gandalf asked. They weren't getting anywhere fast. Did he trust Lord Elrond? What sort of foolish question was that to ask?

"It's this whole plan. I... I don't trust him," Twilight stated flatly, before quickly holding her hoof up to Gandalf. "And before you go into some spiel about how great Elrond is, and how we should all trust him because of his wisdom, here me out on this at least."

"As you wish," Gandalf replied and sat back down on his bed. This he certainly had to hear.

"Alright. I don't know what experience you've had with Elrond before in the past, so I honestly don't know how this might come across to you. But I honestly think that he can't be trusted. Maybe he's working with Sauron like Saruman, maybe it's of his own volition, I don't know exactly. But whatever it was, this whole idea just seems so... flawed in terms of basic logic," Twilight stated. "I mean, seriously, think about it for a minute. He was there in the council, he saw how everyone was being affected in the mere presence of the ring; most of us were ready to tear each other to pieces to try and take it for ourselves. And what exactly is his great plan for destroying the ring? Send the sixteen of us to Mount Doom, which is in Mordor, which is filled with poisonous fumes, and Sauron always surveying his domain. So in addition to us being negatively affected by the ring, and in close proximity to it as well as one another, we're being sent right into the heart of enemy territory? It... it just sounds like a recipe for disaster. It's like Elrond is hoof-delivering the ring to Sauron himself, by sending us into a situation where the odds are so thoroughly stacked against us it's not even funny, and chances are very good that we'll kill each other along the way, provided Sauron's forces don't get us first!"

Gandalf had agreed to listen to Twilight as she spoke her peace to him, but he was finding out that it wasn't as easy as he'd first assumed. Besides the content of her message, and all it entailed, there was also the delivery. At some point during her explanation she'd started pacing back and forth. But the longer she continued talking, the more frantic her pacing became, along with the more frantic her voice became. She sounded like she couldn't make up her mind between being frightened with suggesting what she was, and convinced enough in the validity of her position to defend it with outright hostility if it proved necessary.

Going by what the other ponies had told him, he was going to need to intervene before some breakdown occurred.

"So what do you suggest?" he asked.

That made Twilight stop her pacing, and face him directly, as she tried to reorient her thoughts.

"Well... we don't really know for certain that the ring can't be destroyed by our efforts. We know that simple magic, a dragon, and one very grouchy dwarf with an axe can't do it. So perhaps instead we need to turn to a different discipline; science. Back in our world we have a chemical compound called thermite that's often used in welding applications and... sorry. Getting ahead of myself," she apologized, realizing that talk of skyscrapers and railroad tracks might be best reserved for a different time. "Anyway, thermite is a combination of two very simple compounds, those being iron oxide, and powdered aluminum. When ignited it's capable of burning at temperatures in excess of 4,000 degrees, and it's self-oxidizing so it can't be extinguished by water; it has to burn until it's consumed itself. That in itself is between two and three times hotter than the magma found within a volcano like Mount Doom. If I have access to those components, we might be able to destroy the ring by tomorrow," she explained.

Science. It was a field of discussion that Twilight had spoken of so passionately during their initial meeting. And yet it was one that Gandalf understood so little about. Her explaining science to him, was like him explaining magic to mortal men; utterly confusing. It was similar to alchemy from what he could tell, but that was as far as his understanding of the subject went.

"I know not how things are in your world, but aluminum is extremely rare in our world. Few have ever heard of it, and those that can actually afford it, guard it as jealously as a dragon would a pile of gold. It is quite unlikely you'd find anyone willing to part with it, even for such a noble purpose," he explained.

"Oh..." Twilight replied, ears drooping in response to this information. "Alright. Suggestion number two; tricking the ring. Elrond says the ring has to be cast into Mount Doom; the volcano in which is was forged, in order for it to be destroyed. But all lava truly is, is rock that's been super-heated to the point it loses its molecular cohesion. If we gathered some granite, limestone, quartz, maybe a few other geological samples for good measure, Spike could easily generate the heat to make them melt into a simulated lava, and that might work," she suggested.

Gandalf couldn't help but chuckle in response to the suggestion. The way the pony thought truly amazed -and amused- him to no end.

"While I certainly like that idea, I doubt that Sauron and his like could be so easily fooled. Mount Doom has certain magical properties not found elsewhere in nature. I believe the ring would know the difference between the two, and resist your efforts at disposing of it in such a manner," he explained.

"Of course it would," Twilight muttered in a growled tone. That would have to be just their luck. "Alright. The third suggestion isn't so much about destroying the ring as it is effectively... hiding it for the time being. Back in my world, there are certain harmful energies referred to as "radiation" that can be quite poisonous to encounter. While not the same as dark magic, there are undeniable similarities between the two standards. Now, these radioactive energies are kept safely contained in lead containers, shielding ponies from their harmful effects. Not knowing exactly how magic in this world works, it's only speculation and theory, but if I could encase the ring in a solid block of pure lead, say five to ten pounds worth, it might serve to keep its evil contained, or at least drastically diminished, so we're not ready to kill one another for it. It might even be enough to hide the ring from Sauron and his spies, for as long as it takes to come up with a solution on just how we're going to proceed."

Now this was a proposal that Gandalf didn't have an immediate response to. This was something that he had to stop and think about. To think that something as common as everyday lead, could contain such dark forces with ease...

"That may be doable. But at best it would only be a temporary solution. We certainly could not simply leave it at that, as there would always be the risk of it eventually being found, and opened up again," he pointed out.

"I'm not suggesting otherwise. But if Sauron's dark magic possesses similar enough properties to radioactivity, it would at least give us some breathing room until we figured out what to do; both about the ring, and about Elrond..." Twilight replied slowly.

And here they were again, back where this whole conversation had started.

"And please, before you try and convince me about how great he is, and how much he can be trusted, because of something you know about him, let me just point out the blatantly obvious here: Saruman. You said he was the oldest, and wisest member of your order. And yet, despite being the wisest around, he still thought it was a good idea to go and serve Sauron. And if Saruman willingly decided to serve Sauron, why shouldn't I suspect Elrond of possibly doing the same thing? Why should any of us trust him? Why... why should any of us trust you?"

Gandalf had no words of comfort to offer up to the distraught pony. At least not yet. She was uncertain, looking for something to cling to, to provide her with a sense of security; something that would ground her back in reality.

"I... I don't know what to do. I don't know who I should trust, or distrust, or anything. What... What am I supposed to do?"

And now they were getting to the heart of the matter. Perhaps now there were words of comfort and wisdom that he could offer up.

"Do you remember the tale of Isildur, and his failure to destroy the ring when he had the opportunity?" Gandalf asked her. She nodded. "Lord Elrond was present at that battle, and fought alongside Isildur. He was the one urging Isildur to cast the ring into the fires of Mount Doom, and end everything right then and there. But as you may have guessed, that did not happen. What you may not know, is that Lord Elrond found himself in a position to end matters then and there as well. He could have killed Isildur where he stood, and either destroy the ring himself, or succumb to its corrupting influence as well. But instead, he chose to let Isildur leave, despite knowing what harm it could do. He chose to put his friendship ahead of all else."

There were many things he had been told about Equestria. But among them, what stuck out possibly the most, was the sheer amount of emphasis that was placed on the concept of friendship. What better to cite in order to calm down the distraught pony, and help her realize the truth?

The fact that she didn't immediately respond suggested she was at least contemplating his words.

"Now then. Do you believe Lord Elrond would have put his friendship ahead of ending Sauron's existence once and for all, if he was likely to serve the dark lord himself?" he asked.

"I... I don't know. I guess not..." Twilight replied uncertainly, before pinching the bridge of her muzzle with her hoof. "This is so hard. I don't know what's going on..."

"Considering you faced Sauron by yourself, it would all be understandable. No one has ever emerged unscathed from confronting the dark lord. And going by what you have said, you faced many things in your duel against him. It would only make sense that you would be shaken up, and questioning everything you once accepted at face value," Gandalf explained.

Twilight blinked. "You actually think that's what this is? That... that actually makes sense. That would explain why I've been so snappy with the others today, normally I'm very calm even when they're... a little nutty," she explained. Now everything seemed to be falling into place, once the correct context was applied. "This isn't going to be permanent, is it? I'm not going to be short-tempered and aggressive from now on, am I?" she asked worriedly.

"I fear I have no answer to that question. Perhaps, but perhaps not. The best advice that I can give you right now, is to try and hold close to your good memories with your friends. In time Sauron's corrupting nature may fade from your mind, allowing you to more freely return to your previous state," Gandalf explained.

For a while, no one spoke in response, allowing the room to fall into silence. And that silence was leading Gandalf to yearn for his bed more and more.

"Well then... if you're sure that Elrond can be trusted. I have another idea for how to proceed, that I'd like to run past him before we all set off on this journey of ours," Twilight spoke up.

"And what might that be?" Gandalf asked, curious to see what she might have to suggest.

"Well there's 16 of us all together, traveling as a group. That's bound to attract a lot of unwanted attention, even with our cloaks making us all look like hobbits instead of colorful ponies. Plus Mordor is a long way from here, going by what Rivendell's libraries had to say on the subject. We could be walking for months, in constant presence of the ring..." she paused, wanting her points to sink in before continuing. "I think it would be best if Frodo and I proceeded to Mount Doom on our own; with the ring safely encased in lead of course. I can teleport us there far faster than we could walk.

"Going by Rivendell's library, Mount Doom is a little over 1,300 miles from here. Now if I were to teleport the two of us that distance, assuming no complications arose, we could easily travel at a pace of three miles every five minutes, without experiencing fatigue. This would give us a traveling speed of 36 miles an hour, over a span of say... 12 hours a day conservatively, that's about 432 miles traveled in a day. We could make our way to Mount Doom is just a little more than three day's time, and be done with it all.

"That's going by a conservative, paced estimate. Alternatively I could try for long-range teleportation, just like I did with Rainbow Dash when we went to Isengard. Pushing my teleportation to its limits, that would let us travel 50 miles about every 15 minutes, assuming Frodo can handle it. That's a traveling speed of 200 miles per hour, so we could reach Mount Doom in... well let's say about seven hours, assuming everything goes according to plan."

Gandalf listened as Twilight explained what she had in mind. And quite frankly, he was having much trouble comprehending the idea of traveling such vast distances with such ease. He remembered what she had said about teleportation, and how she'd proposed using it to bring himself and herself to Bree from Isengard. But this was still something else to consider.

"Do you mean to say that-"

Twilight nodded in agreement. "If Frodo and I left for Mordor by mid-morning we could, quite possibly, put a permanent end to Sauron's reign just in time for afternoon tea. We wouldn't get back until around midnight, but that's hardly an issue. The point remains that Sauron, and all of the trouble he's caused everyone in Middle Earth, could be ended in less than a day. And when that comes to pass," she chuckled darkly for a second, "Middle Earth is going to be rocked by the biggest, wildest celebration in the history of its existence!"
> A Murder of Crows and the Pass of Caradhras
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


A Murder of Crows and the Pass of Caradhras


Having been alive for thousands of years, Lord Elrond had bore witness to a great many things coming to pass in his lifetime, in addition to hearing of many more transpiring far away and removed from himself. All in all it had, either rightly or wrongly, given him a sense of having a fairly good idea of what went on in the world. But even he couldn't deny that what events were unfolding in front of him were highly unexpected.

It was late in the evening when he had been approached by both Gandalf and Twilight Sparkle, about the prospect of a different way of proceeding with the plan to destroy the ring; a way that, according to how it was presented to him, could quite possibly resolve the situation in a matter of days, rather than months.

It sounded totally, and utterly preposterous in basic concept. And yet the Equestrian had presented the theory in such a concise and thought out manner, that even he couldn't deny that there was an aspect to it that seemed logical; at least in theory anyway.

That was how he wound up here in one of the crafting houses, watching alongside Gandalf and a rather tired looking Frodo, as the pony went about trying to bring her plan into fruition.

Acquiring the requested amount of lead had been a trivial matter; it was a staple in many artisan crafts that the elves worked on.

They all watched as Twilight went about working her magic, first reducing the lead to a viscous state, before holding it aloft in her magic and working it, molding it, not unlike a sort of runny clay.

"Alright, Frodo, put the ring in and let's see if this works," Twilight stated as she held the pool of liquid-esque metal in front of her.

Frodo nodded as he approached, gave the ring one last look as he brought it out, and then placed it in the middle, before stepping back again. "So... how exactly is this supposed to work again?"

"It's quite simple really," Twilight spoke as she proceeded to fold and wrap the lead over and around the ring. "Lead has an extremely high molecular density to it, allowing it to effectively shield against harmful forms of energy that could, without terribly exaggerating, melt your internal organs. We're going to encase the ring much like it's a piece of plutonium, and render it inert to everyone around it. Granted it's not a perfect solution; radiation and dark magic aren't 100 percent compatible, so some bleed through may still occur. But since we lack the thaumium additives that would be needed in an application such as this, I'm going to instead try and compress the lead it on itself around the ring, actually increasing the molecular density in the process, in an effort to enhance its shielding capabilities."

Frodo blinked in confusion, looking up to Gandalf for clarification. "Did any of that make sense to you?"

Gandalf shook his head. "I understood every word she said, and yet I could not even begin to tell you the meaning behind them," he muttered in admittance. He was starting to wonder if her translation efforts had failed, and she was actually slipping back into her native language during it all.

"Would you like me to run it by you again in Sindarin?" she asked sarcastically, having heard the entire exchange. But she chose not to pursue the matter, and focus instead of properly shaping the lead to suit their needs.

Elrond remained silent and simply watched, possessing the knowledge that they were dealing with matters far beyond their level of understanding. They were essentially being outsmarted by a pony; a very intelligent pony, but a pony nonetheless. He wasn't sure what that meant, as he watched her effortlessly wrap the accursed ring in a thick layer of lead without ever touching it, and molding it into a solid, seamless cube, whose overall dimensions suggested it was smaller than the ingot that had been supplied.

"There. Hopefully that should do the trick," Twilight said with a breath as she sat the block on the workshop's oaken table for closer inspection, and more thorough examination. "I'm not feeling anything like I was previously. I think it might've done the trick."

As much as Elrond wished to believe otherwise, he had to admit that the oppressive presence of the ring being in such close proximity to them had suddenly ceased. It was like the ring was miles away from Rivendell, rather than just a few feet away from where he stood.

Even with all that he'd seen transpire in his time, he would admit that he was quite impressed by the results.

"Look."

And then the statement from Frodo caused them all to look over on the table, and at the block of lead. Or rather the fact that the block was starting to bubble in the center at the top.

"Oh no..."

It was like watching a piece of butter being thrown into a hot skillet, as the lead sagged and wilted, before finally melting into a large middle that surrounded the ring, and dripped off the table to the floor, filling the air with an acrid scent of defeat.

The ring, apparently, was not impressed with Twilight's science.

"Oh you son of a bitch!" she shouted at the ring in both fury and disbelief.

Gandalf didn't want to admit to it, but he had allowed his hopes to be raised when Twilight had laid out her plans to him. She had spoken with such conviction, such certainty, that he'd allowed himself to believe that she was speaking from experience and success on the matter. Sadly that wasn't the case.

"A valiant effort. But Sauron is not easily defeated. We will simply have to proceed accordingly," he stated.

"This does nothing to invalidate the other half of the plan. Frodo and I can still teleport to Mordor and end this within a day's time. We'll travel fast, we'll travel light, we'll make our way up Mount Doom, and we'll bring down Sauron's empire where Saruman failed to do so," she stated quickly.

"Perhaps. But it would be unwise to follow such an approach, in light of this new development," Elrond spoke up from where he stood. "You yourself said, that when you were engaged in a battle of wills against Sauron within Saruman's mind, you saw many terrible things. We have no way of knowing what Sauron might have seen, nor do we have reason to believe that he did not see anything. He could now be aware of far more than we ever thought possible. You have directly challenged him, meaning he will have all the more reason to be aware of you. We have no idea of what consequences may yet come about, from your attempts at addressing the situation by yourself," he pointed out.

"And your idea of trekking over hostile terrain for months on end is better, how exactly?" Twilight asked him in an openly hostile manner, making no effort to hide her distrust of him right now. Despite Gandalf's assurances, she was still having a hard time trusting Elrond's plan. "What makes the slow and dangerous option the preferable of the two? How... how do we know you're not working with Sauron?"
Gandalf flinched at the reappearance of the question. He had sincerely hoped that they had gotten past this point of distrust. So much for that idea.

"If you knew of the history Sauron had with my bloodline, you would not feel the need to question such nonsense," Elrond said in a low, firm tone as he looked directly at her, his expression hard like steel. "You are the one that chose to face Sauron directly, making him aware of your presence in our world, and giving him reason to watch for any sign of you. You are the one who has been going around, doing as you please with no regard for what consequences your actions may have later on down the road. Your solution may be faster, but knowing so little about how your magic works in our world, it may only make the situation worse. We have no way of knowing how it may interact with the ring, or how it may interact with you during your efforts. Being aware of what you have proven capable of, the ring may bring the full weight of its corrupting influence down upon you, until you finally break under the pressure, just as others before you have," he warned.

Twilight didn't want to admit to it, but she hadn't stopped to consider such possibilities before. What if Elrond was right? What if the massive amounts of magic that long-ranged teleportation required, managed to catch Sauron's attention? What if he was strategically minded, and possessed the ability to analyze their travel pattern, and redirect his forces to the estimated coordinates of where they'd be stopping next? They'd wind up teleporting into the middle of an army of orcs if such was possible, and she'd be too weak to respond accordingly.

Or worse, what if the ring did try to corrupt her, and she didn't have the ability to resist its influence? What if she crumbled like Isildur did, and made off with the ring for herself? That thought alone sent shivers down her spine.

Observing Twilight's reaction, Elrond concluded that she understood what he was saying.

"There is a wisdom that you are not realizing to taking the long route. Sauron's forces, while overwhelming, are still finite. They cannot be everywhere at once, and outside of the Nazgul, none can detect the presence of the ring. They will have no way of knowing where it is. And with the aid of your enchanted cloaks, you are unlikely to draw attention, despite the size of the party," he explained.

"Alright, I'll concede that point. But that doesn't change what you said previously about the ring and its dark influence. How exactly is the slow way any safer with that regard?" Twilight asked. Simply because she'd recognized the wisdom of one aspect, didn't mean she was fully on board for everything.

"While it remains true that we can do nothing about the ring's influence itself, that does not mean we have no options available. Traveling by yourselves, you and Frodo would shoulder the full effects by yourselves. But traveling in the company of the others, its influence will be divided evenly among each of you, minimizing the possibility of any one of you being more affected than the others. With each of you bearing a portion of the burden, it will be far more bearable than if you were on your own," Elrond stated.

Twilight mulled over the answer that she was given. While she had her doubts about that being the case, she so far hadn't seen any evidence to suggest otherwise. Perhaps that really was the case. Perhaps they could keep the ring's influence to a tolerable level if they were all together, for as long as the journey took them.

"What of Boromir?"

It was a softly spoken question on Frodo's part, but she'd still heard it none the less.

"He seems... most vulnerable to the ring..."

Twilight thought on the statement, before realizing that Frodo was right. During the council, if Gandalf hadn't spoken up, she was fairly certain that Boromir would've plucked the ring right off the pedestal and claimed it right then and there. He was a liability if, even in the presence of everyone, he had succumbed that easily.

"Boromir will be addressed accordingly. By myself, and by Aragorn if necessary," Gandalf spoke up firmly, in a tone that suggested to both Frodo and Twilight that the situation wasn't something unexpected, and they had contingencies in place should something like that happen. "In the meantime, I would suggest everyone get some sleep. Tomorrow is the start of what will prove to be a very long day..."



The next morning, the Fellowship was ready to set off. Or, at least as ready as they would ever be.

The Equestrians had some new equipment, and they seemed to fit into Middle Earth better now. But they had to get up at the crack of dawn, which left Rarity trying to tug a very stubborn Applejack out of bed, which was proving to be much easier said than done.

"Applejack! Get up! The rest of us are already up and ready, and we're leaving in thirty minutes! GET UP!" Rarity shouted. But Applejack just rolled over, and pulled her pillow over her head.

It struck Rarity as odd. Being a farmer, she knew that Applejack was the type to rise early. But ever since their arrival in Middle Earth, that hadn't been the case. Now she was sleeping in; something that she had never done before. Twilight's theory was that the absence of her normal farming routine, combined with her body possibly not properly synchronizing with the magnetic fields of Middle Earth -or some other science related matter that she couldn't rightly recall- had left Applejack's internal clock out of whack, meaning she could no longer rise early as she normally did.

"I'll get her, Rares."

It was Rainbow Dash. She had something behind her back. Rarity eyed her suspiciously, and backed up to the door while Rainbow Dash moved towards Applejack's bed. Her new position allowed Rarity to see that Rainbow Dash had an ivory horn behind her back; she instantly recognized it as Boromir's, and tensed.

"Oh dear. You're not going to..."

"Pretty much," Rainbow Dash replied and grinned.

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" Rarity asked.

"Probably not. But like ya said, we need to get going," Rainbow Dash pointed out, before putting the horn to her lips, paused, then-

HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!

Applejack screamed and fell off the bed, saying a few curses that, in a different situation, would have motivated Rarity to slap her. Unfortunately, Applejack seemed a bit too violently upset to approach at the moment.



"RRRRRAAAAAIIIIIINBOOOOW!" Applejack's roar echoed through Rivendell. Outside, Legolas, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie looked up.

"That'll be AJ," Pinkie said cheerily, turning to Boromir. "You might find yourself regretting letting Dashie use your horn, Boromir."

Boromir shrugged and grinned. "It's how I woke Faramir. I tried it on our father once, but he was less amused..."

Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy giggled, and Legolas turned away to roll his eyes. Just then, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Spike came out, looking a little flustered.

"We were almost trampled by your friends, Pinkie," Frodo said. "I think Applejack was angry at Rainbow Dash for something..." Pinkie smiled.

"Boromir let Dashie use his horn to wake up AJ," She said brightly. "And sometime within the next few minutes, Rarity will hit them both in the head and force them out here. Listen."

There was a pause. Then, a moment later, identical "Ow!" remarks could be heard, and Rarity's voice could be heard scolding her two friends. "Yup," Pinkie said, "like clockwork."

Minutes later, a disgruntled looking Applejack walked up to them. "Morning," She mumbled.

Then, Rainbow Dash came up. From the bruises, cuts and welts that covered parts of her body, they could tell Applejack got her kicks in before Rarity had intervened. With a grin regardless of her overall condition, she handed Boromir his horn, undamaged, surprisingly enough, and sat next to Fluttershy.

Then, Rarity came out, looking surprisingly unruffled, despite her friends' appearance.

"Good morning," She said sweetly, her supplies in tow on a sort of sled being pulled behind her.

She didn't recall exactly how it had come up in the conversation yesterday, but it had been pointed out that traveling to Mordor even under the best of circumstances was dangerous. And these were anything but the best of circumstances. To go unarmed was even more dangerous.

Granted hooves made the notion of being armed difficult to say the least. But the elves had been willing to consider the idea for those that were capable. That being her, Spike, and Twilight. Out of the three of them, Spike had chosen to stick with the axe he'd received at Weathertop, and Twilight had foregone the option of provided weaponry in favor of her magical aptitude. That left her alone, selecting to go the route of the archer with a longbow, and a quiver full of arrows, which Legolas would be showing her how to properly use on their journey.

A small sword had also been a part of her selected assortment, although truthfully she hoped that she wouldn't have need of using it. The runic inscriptions etched into its structure, combined with the polished appearance, made it look more like a display piece than an actual weapon. If given the choice on the matter, she would have -perhaps surprisingly- favored the procured Nazgul blade instead. Its beastly appearance, she wouldn't mind if it were beaten and chipped in a fight. But sadly such was not to be the case on this excursion.

People were gathering by this point. Aragorn, Gimli, Gandalf, and Twilight joined the group. It was time to leave. When all had assembled, Lord Elrond spoke. "The Ring-bearer is setting out on the Quest of Mount Doom," The Elf-Lord said. "On you who travel with him, no oath, no bond is laid to go further than you will."

"No oath to go further than you will?" Rainbow Dash muttered to Applejack. "This should turn out to be interesting."

Applejack shook her head. "Ah thought that we were supposed to stick together. It jus' plains sounds wrong tha' we can leave whenever we want during such an important task."

Fluttershy, who was behind them, stepped forward and muttered, "Do you think anyone will leave?"

"Maybe," Rainbow Dash replied vaguely. "We probably won't though. Not after everything we've been through together."

"Farewell. Hold to your purpose. May the blessing of Elves and Men, and all Free Folk go with you." The Fellowship bowed to him, and then straightened.

"The Fellowship awaits the Ring-bearer." Gandalf said. He had donned his ever-so-spiffy light blue/grayish pointed hat, and carried his staff in one hand. He gestured to the gates, and Frodo stepped forward. He looked very uneasy. He stepped out the gate, followed by Gandalf, Gimli, Boromir, Pippin, Merry, Legolas, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Spike, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Soon leaving only Rarity and Aragorn in the courtyard.

Rarity was patiently waiting for Aragorn, silently wondering what was taking him so long.

Rarity followed Aragorn's gaze, and saw that it led to Arwen. While she was trying to remain stoic, it was obvious that she was distressed and could not look Aragorn in the eye. Aragorn stood there for a moment, gazing at her face as if he were attempting to engrave it completely in his memory. While she had seen hints over the last few days, at this moment Rarity was completely sure that Aragorn was in love with Arwen, and she with him. She couldn't help but smile at this.

Aragorn stared at her for a long time, before finally turning around and going after the others. He gave Rarity a small smile when he saw she had been waiting for him. They, too, passed through the gates after their fellows. The Fellowship had begun their journey.



Three weeks. That was the amount of time they'd all spent on this trek from Rivendell towards Mordor. The better part of a month, they'd all been together, for better or worse. Primarily worse by Twilight's recollection.

Much as she had done in every other location, she had left a burned notice in the Equestrian dialect outside of their last known location, in order to let Princess Celestia know of where they would be journeying so they could be found. And yet in all the time they'd been here, she hadn't even once picked up even an inkling of another Alicorn being anywhere in this world. She really didn't want to think about the possibility that Princess Celestia wasn't even looking for them. Or if she was, she had no idea of where to look.

Beyond that, there was the simple fact that the Fellowship simply wasn't getting along like a team. Despite the overall mission they were tasked with, they were acting more like a group of people who simply didn't want to be here.

Gimli and Legolas, whenever they had to interact with one another, were trading snarky barbs with regularity. Some of them were funny, others not so much. Despite Legolas being the more stoic of the two, they still came off as being quite childish in their interactions.

It was on the fifth day of their journey that Applejack had gotten fed up with their bickering, and more or less exploded on them, demanding that they act mature. Gimli had, naturally, taken poorly to receiving orders from her, and questioned why a dwarf should feel motivated to listen to a pony. Applejack's response to the question had come in the form of gathering firewood for the journey; that being she delivered a brutal bucking kick to a large, balding tree, and uprooted the entire thing on her own in the process.

The simple, but undeniably brutal demonstration of how much strength she carried in her small frame, had served to quell the better part of the duo's bickering after that. They had even found a bit of common ground to agree on; don't make Applejack angry. After that the two more or less kept to themselves, or focused more on their interactions with others, rather than snarking one another.

Legolas had been spending time instructing Rarity in the proper use of a bow and arrow. It was a bit of a harrowing task, as it required her to develop the ability to actually draw the bowstring back, when it had a 70 pound draw to it. But she was getting better at it the more she went along. She was even getting close to hitting her targets, rather than watching the arrows follow a drastic rainbow trajectory and hit the ground halfway out.

Gimli on the other hand was instructing Spike in the proper use of an axe as a fighting weapon. Unlike other members of the group, he didn't see the dragon's diminutive size as a hindrance in his fighting capability; if anything he saw it as an advantage that could be easily exploited against those that would underestimate him. Something about dwarven ingenuity or something like that.

On a more surprising note was the budding friendship that Gimli was developing with Pinkie Pie of all ponies. Apparently there had been a great deal of interest in the fact that her family owned and managed one of the largest, most successful rock farms in all of Equestria, and could sustain itself by supplying the demands of those in need of all things rock related.

Fluttershy was recovering quite nicely from her concussion, and showing no signs of complications, for which they were all thankful. She was even learning from Aragorn about the local flora that had medicinal qualities to it, and which was best to avoid due to being toxic. That would be a lot of use to them, considering they were eating a lot of local flora on their journey in order to help stretch out their supplies as best possible.

Right now she was observing as Boromir went about conducting a sparring lesson for Merry and Pippin, doing his best to instruct them in the proper use of their swords, so they wouldn't just be flailing helplessly in an engagement.

She herself was learning as she observed, memorizing his movements and instructions, and looking for potential weaknesses in his form and technique that would need to be corrected should she need to utilize them herself.

"One- two- three-" he said, going through the steps and swinging carefully at the hobbits. "Good. Faster, now. One- two- three."

On the last blow, however Boromir accidentally hit Merry's hand with the blade. The hobbit yelped and dropped his blade, shaking his hand.

"Sorry, Merry-" Boromir started, but just then, the Hobbit had delivered a swift kick to his shin. "Ow!"

This, of course, erupted into a small, mock fight between Merry, Pippin and Spike, who couldn't sit back just to watch a fight like this take place, without getting in on the fun. "For the shire!" was the yell as Boromir was besieged by the trio pinning him down and tickling him without mercy.

After everyone had had a good laugh, Aragorn went over to try and pull everyone off Boromir.

"That's enough, gentlemen," he chuckled. Spike and Merry exchanged conspiratorial looks. Then, without warning, hobbit and dragon seized a leg each and pulled. Aragorn quickly found himself on the ground right along Boromir. Crafty hobbits, they were.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, Frodo and Sam laughed nearby, having front-row seats to the wrestling match. Sam looked up, still chuckling, but suddenly, his expression sobered with curiosity.

"What is that?" he asked, nodding his head towards something. Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, and Frodo looked up, along with the others.

"What's what?" Rainbow Dash asked. Sam pointed out at the sky, and Rainbow Dash squinted. She managed to make out a black cloud of... birds, maybe?

"Nothing, it's simply a wisp of cloud," Gimli said, waving his hand dismissively.

"It's moving fast... and against the wind," Boromir said skeptically. Applejack stepped up next to Rainbow Dash, also squinting.

"Are those... Crows?" she asked. Nearby, Gandalf went tense.

"Crows?" he said sharply.

"Crebain, from Dunland!" Legolas yelled, sounding worried. The ponies turned, as though to ask him what Crebain were, but they were cut off.

"HIDE!" Aragorn barked. "HURRY!"

"TAKE COVER!" Boromir added.

Immediately, there was a flurry of motion around the camp. Sam went about putting out the fire, and Twilight and Rainbow Dash ran to help Aragorn and Boromir hide their weapons and bags, hiding with the two men under an outcropping of rocks. Pinkie Pie and Rarity crouched behind a rock with Gimli. Applejack and Spike slid under a scraggly bush with Legolas, and Fluttershy ducked into a small hole between two rocks with Merry and Pippin.

The crows- or Crebain as they'd been termed- swept low over the camp, some brushed the ground, other, the tops of the rocks and bushes. Everyone was totally silent, not even daring to so much breathe.

To the Equestrians, the crows were obviously a threat. But how?

Then again, Rarity thought as she crouched lower, If an inanimate object can be a powerful weapon, Celestia knows what a crow in this world could do...

Finally, the crows flew away, leaving them in peace. The ponies let out a breath and scrambled out from their hiding places. Gandalf rose, staring grimly after the birds as they passed by.

"Spies of Saruman," he said gravely.

Twilight's breath caught in her throat at hearing Gandalf's words. How... how was that actually possible?

"But Ah thought Saruman was dead," Applejack commented, vividly remembering the tale she'd been told about Twilight's encounter with the white wizard.

"He still could be. Them being spies of Saruman doesn't mean he didn't die, and Sauron assumed control. This... this doesn't really change anything; not yet," she replied. Much as she wanted to believe that she hadn't committed murder, this was too little to actually go on. Where had Saruman been the three weeks prior if he were still even alive?

"Whether or not Saruman lives, it changes nothing. The passage south is being watched. We will have to make for the Pass of Caradhras instead." He turned and nodded. Everyone looked up.

"Oh... My word." Rarity whispered. For the Pass of Caradhras was a gigantic mountain of snow.

"Well... this is gonna suck," Rainbow Dash commented.

"Totally," Spike replied and nodded in agreement.



Four days later, the Fellowship was trekking through the snows of Caradhras. The first two days were all right, though sleeping was a little hard.

On the afternoon of their second day, as they struggled through going up a fairly steep hill, Frodo fell and tumbled backwards down the hill.

"Frodo!" Spike yelped. He turned sharply, and then slipped himself, tumbling down the hill after him.

Aragorn immediately- and carefully- shuffled through the snow to them, pulling the dragon and the hobbit up, and dusting them off. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Cold, but that's about it," Spike said. "Frodo?" Frodo nodded, and brought his hand to his chest reflexively to look for the Ring. A stricken look crossed his face, and he froze. "Frodo, what is it?"

"The Ring," Frodo whispered, looking mortified. "The Ring, it's-" Suddenly, the three looked up. The company had stopped, and was waiting for them. But not far off was Boromir, crouched in the snow... With the One Ring in his hand, dangling as he held it from its chain.

Pinkie Pie smiled. "See? You didn't lose it, Boromir has it!"

Pinkie -with maybe the exception of Pippin, who was naturally oblivious at times- was probably the only member of the Fellowship seemingly unaware of the tension involving Boromir and the Ring. She had been paying attention at the meeting, but her innocence and trust kept her unaware of possible problems that could arise.

So, naturally, neither Aragorn nor Frodo was comforted by her observation. But Aragorn began to walk up the slope, the baby dragon and the hobbit following suit.

"Boromir," Aragorn called. But the man did not respond. He was staring intently at the Ring, studying it. Up the hill, just behind Gandalf, Twilight turned to the wizard, apprehensive.

"Gandalf... What should we do?" She whispered. "Should we-"

"Do nothing." Gandalf hadn't even looked at her. His piercing eyes were fixed on the scene below. "Do nothing. Aragorn will handle it."

Back below, Spike, Frodo and Aragorn stopped short a few feet before Boromir.

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt, over so small a thing... Such a little thing..." Boromir whispered, his hand slowly approaching the Ring.

Rainbow Dash silently agreed with him. It was only a little golden ring. A little golden ring forged in pure evil, and constantly tormenting all of them, herself included. Whispering sweet and terrible nothings into her ears, trying to seduce her into taking it for herself.

She could take it. She could take it and be so far gone away from here, none of them would ever catch her. She could be miles away from them, and there'd be nothing they could do about it.

Except for maybe Twilight. Twilight was the one pony who could bring her down. She'd be on her on a Manehattan Minute, pinning her down on the ground while holding onto her for dear life, begging and pleading with her to not give into the ring's influence, crying at the prospect of their group being driven apart and...

She sighed to herself. She didn't want the ring quite that badly.

"Boromir!" Aragorn's tone was sharp, cutting through the silence and tension that surrounded them. Both Boromir and Rainbow Dash fell out of their trance. "Give the Ring to Frodo," the Ranger said sternly.

Boromir moved forward and held out the Ring. "As you wish," he said, a bit of laughter suddenly coming into his voice. Frodo snatched the Ring back, his breathing somewhat heavy. The corner of Boromir's lip turned up in a slight smirk. "I care not."

He reached out and ruffled Frodo's hair, knocking out a bit of snow that'd been caught in it when he fell. Then, the Gondorian turned and went back up the hill after the rest of the Fellowship.

As Frodo put the chain around his neck again, Twilight happened to glance for a brief second at Aragorn, and froze. He had his hand on the hilt of his sword, as though he were prepared to draw it. She paled slightly but looked away before the others could see her face. Had the Fellowship already come down to that?

Rainbow Dash turned away as well, keeping her eyes off Frodo, and ignoring the siren call of the Ring that even now remained with her.

One pony, however, had seen the look in her friend's eyes.

"Rainbow," Applejack muttered to her when there were no others to overhear, "don't even bother with it."

"Bother with what?" Rainbow Dash asked, a clueless expression upon her face.

"You know what I'm talking about. It's like the Alicorn Amulet. It brought no good to Trixie, and this certainly won't do you no good, either."

"Now why in the world would you think I want some gaudy old ring?" Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because Ah saw that look in your eyes, Rainbow, and Ah feel the same way you do!" Applejack admitted quickly. "Ah want ta take it an' look at it, an' even try to wear it, but Ah know that Ah can't. Ah saw those Black Riders and what they can do. Ah heard stuff in that council. And all that Ah'm feeling proves it! That Ring is pure evil, it is."

"Hmm," the Pegasus replied noncommittally. "Sure you ain't imagining all this?"

"You know Ah'm not, ya feather brained idjit!" Applejack snapped at her. "It won't shut up. It just keeps callin', callin', callin'. It's callin' like a foal with a fever callin' fer her momma. It won't quit whisperin' things ta me. Things ta try an' tempt me ta take it from Frodo by force," she admitted.

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash asked and blinked. "Like what?"

"Like how with it, Ah could grow apples as big as houses. How the farm would never be in trouble again with all the money we'd be rakin' in with it. Ya know, all the biggies ya'd expect from a farmer," Applejack admitted. "What about ya?"

Rainbow Dash remained silent for a moment. A long, uncomfortable moment.

"Lots of different things," she admitted and sighed, looking down at the snow. "At first it was telling me things like how I could be the greatest Wonderbolt to ever exist with it. How I could even own the Wonderbolts all by myself; like actual slavery ownage. But then, when that didn't work... it started playing dirty. It started playing on my loyalty to you and all the others. Started whispering things about how I needed it in order to protect my friends, and how they'd all die around me if I didn't take it for myself; how I'd be a horribly disloyal friend if I let Frodo keep it, because he couldn't possibly protect everyone. How only I, with its help, could keep everypony safe," she stated and closed her eyes. "I... I think it's right about that, too..."

"Rainbow-"

"I mean, just think about it, AJ," Rainbow Dash interrupted, "I'm the fastest in the group. I could hothoof it all the way to Mordor before the others even got halfway. I could toss it into Mount Doom inside of a couple of days if I really booked it. And all the while Sauron would have to focus on me, not us. The others would be a lot safer if I just stopped thinking about it, and actually went and did it."
Applejack had no retort for that. Here she thought Rainbow Dash was succumbing to visions of glory and power, and instead she was wrestling with temptation, and planning how to end things on her own to keep them from getting in harm's way. She was twisting the ring's message back against it.

Without a word, she stepped over and pulled the Pegasus into a firm hug.

"Alright, alright," Rainbow Dash finally replied and squirmed her way loose. "Enough with the mushy stuff. Ponies will talk."

Applejack just chuckled and shook her head in response. "A'right. But seriously, RD, don' be tryin' ta do that. If ya get yerself in trouble tryin' ta be a hero, Ah might not be able ta save yer hide," she warned.

"If it's something I couldn't get out of on my own, I wouldn't ask you to try," Rainbow Dash replied.



To say the next few days on the Caradhras pass were utter misery would be a drastic understatement.

In addition to the naturally steep and treacherous terrain of the mountain to contend with, there was the added misery of a blizzard that had blown in out of nowhere. A blizzard with fierce, biting winds that blew against them from all directions, practically cutting right through the heavy clothing that Rivendell had supplied them for the journey. Gandalf's, Spike's -and even Twilight's- efforts at lighting a fire to provide some measure of warmth proved futile at every turn, due to the hostility of the elements they were faced with.

Rainbow Dash had tried valiantly to alleviate their misery by taking off into the sky to break up the clouds that were raining down the snow on them. But despite her best efforts the clouds remained, her Pegasus magic ultimately proving useless against the inhospitable weather. All she'd gotten for her troubles -beyond the appreciation of the others for trying- was being completely covered in snow from nose to tail, and dampened spirits.

Dampened spirits or not, she hadn't let it get her down. There was still plenty of work left to do as they made their way up to the Caradhras pass. There was a ton of snow in their path that had to be cleared, everyone pitching in to help out to whatever extent they could, making extensive use of the heavy winter clothing they'd been supplied with. She, must like the others, was exhausted at this point. There was just so much snow that needed to be moved, and she'd tried so hard to break up the blizzard even before engaging in this sort of work. She wanted to close her eyes, wanted to rest her aching body, even for just a few minutes. She just wanted to lay down and close her eyes.

But she couldn't do that. The others all had to be as tired as she was, but they were still soldiering on. Boromir and Aragorn certainly weren't letting their tiredness get to them, they were continuing on in a manner she respected.

"Alright," Twilight spoke up with a sigh, "this is taking too long. We need a change of plans."

"And what might you suggest?" Legolas asked, curious as what alternative she might have in mind. Simply because the cold didn't affect him like it did the others, in no way made this task any more pleasant for him to deal with.

"Snow plow," Twilight replied simply, before turning her attention back forward, her horn flaring to life in the haze of the blizzard. In a flash her magic materialized before them in a wide, angled plate that came to rest in their path. She grunted, scraping at the ground with her hoof in an aggressive manner, before marching her way forward.

The others watched on, some in amazement, as the magical construct began parting the snow in front of them, piling it off to the sides, and giving them a wide berth to proceed as it scraped along the ground. Why she had waited to long to take such a course of action, they didn't really know. But the important thing right now was that it was an option right now.



The next two nights of their journey up the mountain were no better. If anything it was even worse. The third night, they were hiking up a winding trail, next to a high wall of rock, feeling the strain of their efforts.

Rainbow Dash's exhaustion had caught up to her some time ago. Several times Aragorn had to shake her awake so she wouldn't get left behind, but it did little good overall, as it was only a few minutes before she was out cold again. Right now she was riding atop Bill, limbs hanging limply as she slumbered restlessly, providing him with warmth as he provided her with transport.

The snow by this point was deep enough that movement was all but impossible. Anyone who could take a passenger was doing so in light of the fact; Spike was atop Twilight's back, Sam on Applejack, Merry on Pinkie, Pippin on Fluttershy, and Frodo atop Aragorn. Anyone else was shouldering an extra share of supplies to make room for transportation purposes.

Much like before, Twilight had been doing her best to forge them a path. But the deeper the snow became, the harder it was to cut them anything more than a narrow path that was barely shoulder-width. Finally the constant effort had simply gotten to be too much to keep up with, forcing them to resort back to trudging through on foot, hoof, and anything else. Right now Gandalf was in the lead, with her following close behind.  Legolas strode by the wizard, to a turn in the path, and stared out intently. The company stopped, a cruel voice rising on the wind.

"Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; nai yarvaxea rasselya!"

"There is a fell voice in the air!" Legolas called to them.

"Legolas is right guys, I'm picking up a voice in the air as well," Twilight said to the Fellowship, her ears twitching with a renewed awareness.

"It's Saruman!" Gandalf roared over the wind.

Twilight wasn't sure what to make of this new information. On the one hoof, she was relieved to find out that she hadn't wound up murdering Saruman while trying to free him from Sauron's hold. But on the other, him being alive -and apparently conscious- meant that things were about to get a lot worse for them.

Worse in the form of, with a rending echo, a horde of rock slabs and boulders were now falling from the mountain's arms, and heading in their direction.

She didn't want to admit it, but maybe, just maybe, they would've been better off if she'd just flat out killed Saruman when she had the chance...

"AGAINST THE WALL!" she yelled as everyone shoved themselves flat against the sheer cliff wall to avoid the onslaught of stone.

"He's trying to bring down the mountain! Gandalf, we must turn back!" Aragorn yelled through the storm.

"NO!" Gandalf says, determined to continue through the mountain, knowing that Saruman was deliberately trying to drive them in a different direction.

With determination against all odds, Gandalf steps out onto the ledge, rising on the snow, chanting out a counter command to Caradhras. The old wizard's voice bellows into the air, attempting to calm the rage of the mountain.

"Losto Caradhras, sedho, hodo, nuitho i 'ruith!"

The wizard's voice was drowned out by a more terrible cry in the maelstrom.

"Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; Nai yarvaxea rasse;ya; taltuva notto-carinnar!"

Lightning struck the tip of Caradhras, sending a second avalanche of sheer white snow onto the Fellowship bellow.

Twilight, thinking quickly, deployed a force field over and around them, serving to keep them from being crushed, and buried alive where they stood. All the while, Gandalf continued his duel against the will of Saruman, trying to command the mountain, but to no avail.

"He's gonna get killed out there if he don' quit!" Applejack commented.

"I'm afraid you're right," Twilight replied, before adjusting her magic to create an opening in the side of the force field to let Gandalf in.

Legolas, however, had a different idea in mind, and stepped outside of the force field to drag Gandalf away from the edge, and into the relative safety away from where the avalanche could easily reach them.

"Well that was a fat lot of good it did us," Spike grumbled.

"Cuiva nwalca Carnirasse; Nai yarvaxea rasse;ya; taltuva notto-carinnar!"

Even through the force field, Saruman's incantation could still be heard echoing.

Twilight growled angrily, before proceeding to yell back at the sky in the Sindarin language, much to the confusion of her friends, who could only make out the word "Saruman" with everything else being gibberish to them. But even though they couldn't make it out, it wasn't lost on them that the others in their group certainly could; and whatever it was, it was enough to leave them quite flustered and disturbed.

"What's she saying?" Pinkie asked curiously.

"There are certain utterances in this world that are of such a profane nature, not even orcs are deserving of them being levied against them," Legolas explained, visibly flustered by what Twilight was currently shouting. "This goes far beyond even them..."

Finally Twilight's tirade ran out of steam, and she ran out of breath with which to curse. It had been a futile effort on her part, as she lacked knowledge of how the incantations of this world worked. But at least it had made her feel a little better. And perhaps it had let Saruman know just how furious she was right now.

And all through her tirade, Rainbow Dash remained asleep and oblivious to what had been happening.

"We must get off Caradhras," Boromir stated to Gandalf in a desperate bid to change the subject of discussion. "Make for the Gap of Rohan and press forward to Minas Tirith!"

"The Gap of Rohan takes us too close to Isengard!" Aragorn protested loudly. "We could walk right into Saruman and his henchmen! Not to mention the land would be swarming with Orcs!"

"Is there any other way?" Twilight asked Gandalf.

"There is!" They all turned awkwardly to face Gimli. "If we cannot go over the mountain, let us go under it! The Mines of Moria!" Everyone turned to Gandalf for council. Applejack, who was closet to the wizard at the time, saw that his eyes and expression were dark. What was so bad about the Mines of Moria?

Then again- they were in a world where a little, golden ring was a weapon of terrible power- with that in mind, Moria could be a nightmare.

When Gandalf failed to respond in a timely fashion, Boromir spoke up with a new point. "We cannot stay here! This will be the death of the little ones!" He was, of course, referring to Spike and the Hobbits. While Spike put on a stoic front, he was shaking from the cold. Merry, Sam and Pippin were no better. Frodo seemed to be doing better than them all, for some reason.

"Let the Ring-bearer decide," was Gandalf's verdict on the matter.

Fluttershy, though her teeth chattered, couldn't help but think that it was rather unfair of Gandalf to heap that responsibility on Frodo. The poor hobbit was already notably stressed under the pressure of his position as the Ring-bearer, and didn't need this extra worry on his mind. "Frodo?"

Frodo quietly observed each member of the Fellowship, Gandalf in particular, before finally replying. "We'll go through the Mines."

"So be it." Gandalf said. Although he truly didn't like it one bit. They knew not what they would be facing down below...



The trip down the mountain had proceeded much smoother than the trip up. Not only did they have a path to follow, the wind and snow had also died down considerably; a fact perfectly illustrated by the fact that they could actually cook up some food right now. With Spike's assistance the group had heated up a random rock until it was glowing bright orange, just below the melting point, and serving just fine for heating up some provisions, and warming some cold tootsies.

Rainbow Dash had finally awoken some time ago, and was currently sitting by the rock with some of the others as Sam went about fixing them something.

Others, however, had other matters to tend to, away from the prying ears of others...

"Twilight somethin's wrong wit' Gandalf... Ah can tell in his voice," Applejack whispered worryingly.

"I know I can tell too. He fears something in Moria. He obviously knows something that we don't." Twilight replied and nodded.

"Should we ask him?" Applejack said.

"Not yet. Let's wait until we get off this mountain before trying anything. Saruman obviously didn't want us traversing this path; almost as soon as he started making our way back, the blizzard started calming down. Obviously whatever it is, it's in Moria. But I have no idea what it could be. And I'm really not in the mood to stay here and guess," Twilight stated. After the things she had said last night... she definitely didn't want to stay up on the mountain.

"We'll probably have ta wait a couple o' days fer answers, then. We still got a ways ta go before we reach the bottom," Applejack replied and shrugged.

"You know..." Pinkie said as she more or less popped up next to them, "we really wouldn't have to hike down."

Twilight felt a nervous tingling running up her spine at the tone Pinkie had used in that statement. But curiosity pressed her onward, overriding notions like common sense, and self-preservation and such.

"And what might you suggest otherwise?" she asked.



"Woohoo!"

It was hard for any member of the Fellowship to not experience at least some level of excitement on the journey down the mountainside, riding atop sleds that had been hewn from solid stone through Twilight's magic. Crazy as Pinkie's suggestion had sounded, it was quite difficult to argue with the results. They were covering vast distances faster than they would've if they'd stuck to walking.

Snow went flying as their sleds cut through it, various cheers of excitement and amused laughter coming from just about everyone; Gimli and Legolas were certainly having fun, although they wouldn't admit it if asked directly. Even Fluttershy was helpless to hide the good time she was having.

Rainbow Dash herself was showing off on the way down, more surfing/snowboarding than sledding. Unlike most of the others who were doubling or tripling up, she had her own sled to use, and was doing so boisterously, as she rode down on her hind legs, bobbing and weaving to steer herself while using her deployed wings to act like a sort of rudder for increased control. All Twilight could do was shake her head, and focus on the path ahead of them. She'd thank Pinkie for the suggestion later on, once they were safely at the bottom.



"So. That is what passes for entertainment in your world then."

"Perdy much," Applejack said as she trotted along, spirits high after the ride down the mountain, and the excitement of it all.

Even occasionally being thrown into a snowbank when they couldn't steer out of the way had done little to dampen her good mood; especially since Rainbow Dash had experienced her own bit of snow diving, when she'd been thrown head first into a drift, with nothing but her hind legs sticking out and kicking wildly when she'd been thrown off her sled while showboating.

"We got a whole host o' games an' such fer winter. If we had a frozen pond ta cross, we could even teach ya how ta play hockey."

As Applejack conversed with Gimli on matters of Equestria, Rainbow Dash couldn't help but feel a certain bit of mischievousness overcoming her; how could she really not, when the sun was shining, and it was so much more pleasant than it had been up on the mountain?

Suddenly, her happy little mind came up with an idea. Applejack was in her direct line of vision- no one in the way, no straying to the side... Just straight ahead. In her mind, Rainbow Dash pictured a small bulls-eye on the back of her friend's head. Could she? Certainly. Should she? Well... she doubted that the other members of the Fellowship would let Applejack rip her apart, but still...

"Ah, what the hay," Rainbow Dash thought. Quietly, she fell a little further back, stooped down, and picked up a hoofull of snow, patting it in her hooves. At that moment, unfortunately, Boromir noticed that the fastest member of the Fellowship had fallen behind. He turned, shifting his shield, and froze when he saw her with the snow.

Rainbow Dash, in turn, froze when she saw the man look at her. Busted... A pleading look in her eyes, Rainbow Dash used her free hoof to make a slashing motion across her throat. Boromir blinked, and then turned to look back at the company. He saw the back of Applejack's head unobscured by the others, and- being a bit of a prankster himself- understood Rainbow Dash's intentions immediately. The Gondorian winked, and turned his back to the rainbow-maned Pegasus, feigning ignorance.

Rainbow Dash grinned- Boromir was definitely someone she would look forward to knowing better. Carefully, she ran forward, lined up the shot, and hurled the snowball at the back of her friend's head.

SPLAT.

"AUGH!" Applejack cried out, attracting everyone's attention. Boromir bowed his head and snickered softly to himself.

Whirling around, Applejack glared immediately at her antagonizer; it didn't take a genius to guess who it was. "RAINBOW!" She barked. Rainbow Dash grinned impishly.

"That was for the pudding!" She called triumphantly.

Applejack looked confused for a moment, wondering what the hay Rainbow Dash was talking about, before she remembered.

"RAINBOW!" She roared. "YOU IDIOT! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT THREW FOOD AT ME!"

"YOU DESERVED IT!" Rainbow Dash yelled back.

But, as with most arguments between the two friends, the fight escalated quickly. Of course, Applejack had to pick up a lump of snow and hurl it back at Rainbow Dash, who dodged with irritating ease.

"Applejack!" Twilight said angrily. "Don't give her the satisfaction of letting her juvenile antics get to-"

"WE'RE ON RAINBOW'S TEAM!" Merry and Pippin screamed simultaneously, running up the hill to Rainbow Dash. Twilight groaned and slapped a hoof to her forehead.

"Traitors," Applejack huffed. Aragorn chuckled and stepped forward.

"Seriously, gentlemen, we are on a schedule. Now-"

Without warning, a snowball to the face cut off the Ranger. Sam, Frodo, Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie gasped. Legolas, Gimli, Twilight, and even Gandalf's respective jaws dropped. Boromir was grinning mischievously, and wiping snow off his gloves. No one was quite certain how Aragorn might react to being nailed in the face with a wad of compressed snow.

Slowly, Aragorn wiped the snow from his face, looking surprisingly calm. "I..." Everyone drew in a tense breath. "... Am on Applejack's team."

Twilight couldn't believe any of this. They were trying to make good time on their journey to Moria, Aragorn of all people had been the one to point out that they had a schedule to keep. And now he was succumbing to this juvenile nonsense, just like the rest of them? This was all too much!

And then a snowball hit her in the side of the head.

As the snow fell away, she could see that it was Pinkie who had taken it upon herself to make her the recipient of a cold interruption.

"Of course you know, this means war..." she stated firmly.

What followed next was a massive snowball fight, kicked off by Twilight taking an early lead in using her magic to send them forming and flying in every direction, very quickly.

Before anyone could actually say the word "bedlam" it had broken out, with everyone -absolutely everyone- taking part. Rarity had intended to remain neutral, and avoid getting hit, but she was quickly heard screaming for Pippin's blood when he got her in the mane with a particularly large ball.

The sides were as followed- On Rainbow Dash's side, there was Rainbow Dash, then Pinkie, Fluttershy, Spike, Merry, Pippin, Boromir and Gimli. On Applejack's side was Applejack, then Rarity, Twilight, Aragorn, Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, and Legolas. Applejack was mainly aiming for Rainbow Dash. Rarity was mainly aiming for Pippin. Aragorn was mainly aiming for Boromir. Legolas, naturally aimed for Gimli, and the remaining eight aimed for everyone else.

The snowball fight went on for far longer than anyone was counting. Applejack's side had a significant advantage- partly because they had both Rarity and Twilight on their side, partly because they had an elf and a wizard. The fight ended when Rainbow Dash simply gave up and tackled Applejack into the snow. Eventually, Applejack got the upper hand, and shoved Rainbow Dash's face in the snow.

As Aragorn and Boromir finally tore them apart, Pippin approached Rarity.

"Aye," the hobbit said. "You've got a good aim, Rarity. You hit me in the forehead." He rubbed the aforementioned body part, flinching. "We even?"

Rarity paused for a moment, considering this. Then, she levitated another snowball from behind her back, and smashed it over the youngest hobbit's hair. Then she smiled. "Yes, Pippin. We're even."
> The Watcher and the Mines of Moria
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Watcher and the Mines of Moria


In two days time, the Fellowship found themselves in a deep valley of rock, hiking through a difficult and narrow trail, and at night no less. Frodo, Gandalf and Twilight were up front, while Pinkie and Spike chatted merrily with Sam, Pippin and Merry. Fluttershy and Applejack brought up the rear, guiding Bill the Pony with Aragorn. Rainbow Dash was on auto-pilot, navigating about the rocks and drops with ease. Rarity was talking with Gimli.

"So, what exactly are these Mines of Moria?" she asked the dwarf. Gimli chuckled.

"A Dwarf nation, lass! My cousin, Balin, rules it!" he explained. Rarity nodded.

"I think you mentioned it back at the Council," Rarity said, "I recall, just before we embarked on our quest."

Gimli nodded. "Yes. I suspected that Moria may have been a quicker route to take. After all, which seems faster- going under a mountain, with nothing but rocks and dwarves in your way, or on a mountain, with snow and wolves lurking about?"

From behind them there was a loud snort. Gimli let out a low growl and whirled around. There, he and Rarity saw Legolas, looking fixedly on a point beyond them. "Was that you, elf?"

Legolas blinked innocently, meeting Gimli's angry gaze.

"Me? Surely you would never expect me to act so undignified, Master Dwarf." the elf replied smoothly, with a small smirk. Gimli grumbled low under his breath and trudged on. As Legolas walked past Rarity, he leaned over and whispered, "At least, not to his face."

Rarity broke into a fit of giggles and had to duck aside for a moment to calm down.

"Ach! There they are!" Gimli cried suddenly. Everyone looked up- Rainbow Dash, just in time to watch as she crashed into Rarity and nearly knock them both over. "These are where the doors to Moria are located!"

Pinkie Pie ran up, looking around. She expected to see very large doors, from the way Gimli had described Moria to them- And since he had been blathering on about Moria for nearly a week, they were expecting something grand.

"Where are they?" she asked as they walked around the gigantic lake in the middle of the valley.

Gimli, who was tapping the rocky walls, glanced back at her. "Dwarf doors are invisible when closed," he explained, giving part of the wall a little tap with his axe.

"Yes, Gimli," Gandalf said. "Some are so well hidden and protected, their own masters cannot find them, if their secrets are lost."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Legolas muttered wryly. Gimli gave the blonde a positively evil look, and Pinkie, Fluttershy and Rarity giggled softly to themselves. Finally, the company reached a larger plot of rock and dirt, where they stopped. Dead, twisted trees curled out like warped hands, as though beckoning them to the water.

"Let's see..." Gandalf murmured, approaching the wall and examining it carefully. Twilight came up behind him, and saw that there were vague runes carved into the ancient stone. "Ithildin... It reflects only starlight and moonlight."

The wizard glanced back momentarily, as a cloud rolled away, revealing a full moon. The light seemed to flow down as easily as water, illuminating the area far better.

The runes suddenly began to glow, creating an arch, a door, with runes carved into it. Gandalf smiled in satisfaction- the first time he had smiled in days, actually. "It reads," He said, tapping his staff on the runes at the top of the door, "'The Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria. Speak, friend, and enter.'"

"What do you suppose that means?" Merry asked, observing the glowing door with awe.

"It's quite simple, really. If you are a friend, you speak the password and the doors will open," Gandalf explained, pressing the head of his staff against a star-like rune on the door. He bellowed something in the same language he had on Caradhras.

"Annon Edhellen, edro hi ammen!"

Everyone tensed, expecting something to happen. Silence. Nothing happened.

Gandalf seemed taken slightly aback by this. He and Frodo shared a glance, before the wizard put both hands on the door, and belted out something else they couldn't understand.

"Fennas Nogothrim, lasto beth lammen!"

"Nothing's happening," Pippin said bluntly.

"No kidding," Spike muttered.

Gandalf shot the two a warning glance, and they both fell silent. The wizard pushed up against the door a little.

"Are they stuck?" Fluttershy asked. Gandalf shook his head, and gave a little grunt of frustration.

"I once knew every spell in all the tongues of Elves, Men and even Orcs," He whispered. "I can hardly go through them all..."

"What are you going to do, then?" Pippin asked loudly.

"Knock your head against these doors, Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, then I am allowed a little peace from foolish questions!" Gandalf snapped, whirling to glare at the young hobbit.

"Maybe we should use AJ's head. Her skull's a lot harder," Rainbow Dash suggested.

Applejack, in response, punched Rainbow Dash in her foreleg, earning a yelp from the Pegasus in both pain and surprise. "Ya started it, Sugarcube."

Twilight didn't even bother to talk this time. She grabbed Applejack with her magic, and Rarity grabbed Rainbow Dash with hers, before they proceeded to drag the quarreling friends apart, so Gandalf wouldn't summon some sort of thunderbolt to electrocute them both. And considering what they had witnessed Saruman do back on the mountain, that wasn't really hyperbole.



About an hour later, the fifteen other members of the Fellowship were laying around, as their sixteenth member attempted to open the door with every combination of Elvish, Westron, Dwarvish, and Orkish words he could come up with.

Aragorn walked up to Sam, who held onto Bill's reins. "If we are to go into Moria, we need to release Bill. The pony will not enjoy the mines."

"But you can't leave poor old Bill behind in this forsaken place, Strider!" Sam cried, angry and distraught at the news.

"The mines are no place for a pony, even for ones as brave as Bill," Aragorn said kindly to the hobbit.

"You mean we can't come in?" Pinkie asked as she and Fluttershy approached.

"Middle Earth ponies then," Aragorn corrected himself, before turning back to Sam. "You will need to choose between Bill and Frodo."

"Bill would follow Mr. Frodo into a dragon's den if I led him," Sam muttered. "It would be nothing short of murder just to release him into the Wild, with all those wolves about."

"Bill is a smart pony," Fluttershy said to Sam sympathetically. She'd had enough conversations with him to know that for a fact.

"He will find his way home," Aragorn finished, giving Sam a compassionate look. Sam tearfully, and aggressively threw down the packs off Bill, and, with some help from Fluttershy, took off all the baggage and tack on the pony. Once he was bare, Bill stared at Sam mournfully, turned around, and slowly trotted away.

As this went on, Twilight and Applejack leaned against the cliff wall near Merry and Pippin.

"Twi' couldn't Ah jus' buck this 'door' down? Or at least use yer magic to blow the door up?" Applejack asked.

"We probably shouldn't. If there are dwarves inside I don't think that they would appreciate us damaging what's technically their home. They might think we're trying to invade, and this would only go worse from there," Twilight explained. "There's also the fact that we still haven't discovered what's in there that Gandalf is so afraid of," she added in a whisper.

"Right... which means we may be here a while," Applejack concluded.

"Most likely," Twilight replied and nodded.

"So... that Saruman wizard definitely sounds dangerous." Applejack said, trying to pass the time as they waited.

"Well considering how he can have birds act as his spies, and the other fact that he caused an avalanche on the mountain... yeah he's pretty dangerous," Twilight said.

Another pause of silence.

"So Twi', if we were guessin', wha' do ya think is inside Moria, that Gandalf's worried about that he didn't want to go through here?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, but if he's scared... then we might be facing something very powerful in there," Twilight answered.

"Yeah, it's what it might be, though, that worries me," Applejack replied, not liking that they didn't know one way or another.



Spike, Merry and Pippin had discovered a new way to pass the time- attempting to skip rocks on the surface of the lake. Rainbow Dash, glowering, joined them. After a moment, she managed to calm down a little. It felt good to have a little noise in an otherwise silent place- if you excluded Gandalf's voice. After she had thrown about three rocks, she felt someone grab her hoof before she could chuck another. Turning, she saw it was Aragorn.

"Do not disturb the water," The Ranger whispered. Rainbow Dash, Spike, Merry and Pippin blinked, before looking out into the water curiously. Was there something in there that Aragorn, but not they, could see?

"Why?" Rainbow Dash asked. But Aragorn merely shook his head and walked over to their packs. Again, with nothing to do, Merry and Pippin sat down back to back, Rainbow Dash settling down next to Spike.

While this was going on, Pinkie noticed Rarity's own method of passing the time; walking around supposedly aimlessly with her horn glowing, as she looked at the ground. That was enough to get her curiosity going, and motivated her to go on over to see what she was doing.

"What's up, Rarity?" she asked, idly tilting her head sideways as she did.

"Mostly just waiting at the moment," Rarity replied, "I was hoping to find out what sort of gemstones Middle Earth has to it, but I'm not finding anything here. I assume the dwarves have already picked the area clean by now; they had more than a five year head start to work with," she commented.

Just then Gandalf gave up at the door. "Oh, it's useless!"

He threw down his staff and sat down beside Frodo and Twilight, pulling off his hat, too frustrated to keep at it. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Boromir watch as a ripple ran through the water.

Frodo stood up and looks at the writings of the glimmering gateway intently.

"It's a riddle," he stated. "Speak 'friend' and enter. What's the Elvish word for friend?" Frodo asks.

"Mellon," both Gandalf and Twilight replied at the same time, the latter of the two giggling in response.

Just then, there was a deep rumbling noise, and the ground quaked slightly. Everyone turned to see the Doors of Durin opening. Immediately, they all gathered their things and jumped up to join Frodo, Gandalf and Twilight. The wizard placed a translucent crystal in the gnarled head of his staff, and it glowed slightly.

"Whadda ya know, they've got flashlights in this world too," Rainbow Dash commented.

Gandalf was the first to enter the mines, followed closely and eagerly by Gimli, who gladly led the less eager elf into the darkness.

"Soon, Master Elf, you will enjoy the fabled hospitality of the dwarves! Roaring fires, malt beer-"

"Did you say beer?" Rainbow Dash asked with a glint in her eye. Applejack and Pinkie Pie also looked interested.

"Yes, the best beer around! And of course, there is ripe meat off the bone!"

"Oh, that is simply disgusting..." Rarity muttered, cringing with the rest of her friends at the mention of meat.

Gimli, heedless of their thoughts, continued. "These mines are the home of my cousin Balin- and to think, they call it a mine. A mine!"

Rarity smiled, and reached over to the nearest wall, to get a sense of where it was. She felt something cold and brittle beneath her hoof, but it was too dark to see what it was. Just then, the light from Gandalf's staff grew brighter. Boromir spoke, sounding horrified.

"This is no mine," He yelled. "It's a tomb!"

Rarity, who had diverted her attention to the man when he spoke, turned back to the object under her hoof- and screamed. It was a skeleton! Rarity had placed her hoof on the brittle hand bones of a skeleton, somehow stuck to the wall. Everyone, in horror, now realized that the entrance hall was filled with skeletons.

From the arrows and severed bones that lay about, it didn't take a genius to realize a battle had taken place. "No..." Gimli gasped, running around and staring in horror at the grisly scene. "NO!"

Rainbow Dash immediately threw an arm around a shaking Fluttershy, while Aragorn and Twilight attempted to console Rarity, who was still screaming at actually standing upon a dead body.

Nearby, Legolas tore an arrow out of a dwarf skeleton. After a moment of examination, he dropped it like it was a cobra. "Goblins!" He hissed.

Aragorn and Boromir drew their swords. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack took this as a cue, with Twilight lighting up her horn in preparation for a spell as they looked around for any visible threats.

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Boromir said darkly. "We should never have come here!"

Spike moved back so that he was standing with the four hobbits, who were all pressed in together. He felt Frodo stumble a little, and he grabbed his arm.

"Frodo?" he questioned shakily. Without warning, Frodo jerked away- Though Spike soon realized it was not of his own accord. Something was coming out of the lake, and it had Frodo around the ankle! "FRODO!" He yelled as he was dragged towards the lake.

Twilight spun around just in time to catch sight of Frodo being dragged back towards the entrance by something. Acting on instinct rather than conscious thought, she let loose a bolt of magical energy ahead of Frodo, apparently hitting whatever it was that had him, as immediately he was no longer being pulled back.

"I don't think Rohan's a viable option," she commented as she flew over to where Frodo laid in order to see just what had happened. What she found wasn't what she'd expected to find; it was a large tentacle, severed by her blast, and still oozing whatever sort of blood had been running through it.

The next thing she knew, she felt herself being grabbed, and suddenly pulled back before she could do anything more than scream in shock.

"Twilight!" Spike yelled in terror at seeing her be the next to get grabbed.

The majority of the Fellowship flooded out of the mine's entrance just in time to see... something in the lake with many tentacles, quickly sink beneath the surface of the lake, dragging Twilight right along with it.

"Wha' in tarnation was that thing!?" Applejack asked as Rainbow Dash took off, flying over the spot Twilight had gone down in some vane hope of managing to find their friend.

"A Watcher," Gandalf stated darkly, "something that is far older, and fouler, than even the orcs themselves..."

"I don't care what it is, it's got Twilight!" Spike stated, furious that everyone was just standing around and doing nothing. But bubbles had already stopped rising, meaning that Twilight had no air left in her lungs. And if they didn't get her up soon, she was gonna be dead.
And then a whole new crop of bubbles started rising, along with a bright purple light shining through the darkness of the water.

"What's happening?" Pinkie asked as the glow started increasing, switching from purple to bright white.

"I don't know, how should we know?" Rainbow Dash replied as she swooped back over onto dry land. She couldn't explain it, but she had a really bad feeling about all this...

Without warning there was an explosion underwater, sending a huge amount of water flying upwards, practically soaking the Fellowship where they stood.

And then came a rain of entrails and loose tentacles falling to the ground, splatting against anything -and anyone- they hit, much to the disgust of everyone present.

Twilight breached the surface of the water soon after, gasping for air and couching as she dog paddled her way back to the shore, weakly dragging herself back up onto dry land again, completely soaked to the bone.

"Anyone for fried octopus?" she asked weakly, before collapsing onto the ground as she continued struggling for air. She was vaguely aware of the others crowding around her, talking either to her or amongst themselves, But she couldn't even begin trying to comprehend what they were saying; not over the blood pounding in her ears right now. She was going to need time to recover before she was up to talking again.

"What happened to her eyes!?"

She knew the shriek came from Rarity; that was the only way to describe it. The frightened shrill tone of her friend had managed to cut through whatever haze she was in, motivating her to look upward as they looked down to her.

"That's freaky," Pinkie added.

"I dunno. I think it looks kinda cool..." Rainbow Dash commented.

"Does somepony want to tell me what the big deal is here?" Twilight asked as she moved to sit up, her head spinning in the process.

"The whites of your eyes have turned blood red," Legolas stated, finding it necessary to look away as he did. Just looking at them made his own eyes hurt and water.

Twilight blinked as she tried to process the given explanation. "That's... understandable really. I had to hold my breath the entire time I was down there, I likely suffered a subconjunctival hemorrhages as a result."

"That's not good," Spike stated. He didn't know a lot about biology, but the word "hemorrhage" was never a good one to encounter.

"It's a lot better than some of the alternatives that could've been experienced," Twilight pointed out as she found the strength to stand up again. "Seriously. A subconjunctival hemorrhages can be had from sneezing too hard, so it's hardly a life-threatening issue that has to be tended to. It'll clear up after a few days."

Those native to Middle Earth could do little more than stand dumbfounded as the conversation unfolded before them, involving topics of discussion that went well beyond their understanding. Some refrained from speaking due to not having an idea what to say, while others were more keen on focusing on the pieces of Watcher that were around them, and could potentially be cooked over a fire for later.

"We are quickly getting nowhere. We must make for the Gap of Rohan immediately. Who knows what dangers the mines of Moria may hold for us," Boromir pointed out. They were lucky that the Watcher had met its match in such short order. But inside the confined spaces of the mine, they might not be so lucky.

"Gandalf does," Twilight pointed out as she finally found the strength to stand up, soaked to the bone, and covered in mud. "And I think it's about time you fill us in on the details. I didn't risk  being drowned by something the Neighponese eat, just to be given the runaround! We're not going a step further, until we get some answers! Now spill, Gandalf, what's in Moria that had you wanting to risk those mountains?" she asked, or rather demanded as she glared at the wizard, wanting answers.

For a moment, Gandalf said nothing, not wanting to speak. But not speaking was apparently not an option. Now that Twilight had spoken up, the others were silently siding with her, and wanting answers. He would have to speak.

"A demon of the ancient world. An evil far beyond the comprehension or mortal men..." he spoke darkly.

"Shudde M'ell?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Gandalf looked at her in bewilderment, before shaking his head. "Far worse than that, I fear. What lays dormant in Moria, is a Balrog. Shadow and flame, giving physical form in pure wickedness. It cannot be reasoned with, it cannot be bargained with. It does not feel fear, or pity, or remorse... once it finds its prey, it will not stop, ever, until it has been caught. It is far beyond any of us. I fear it we set foot within, we will risk incurring its wrath..."

None of the Fellowship dared to speak in light of this new information. What was there to be said about the revelation that they'd almost walked into a demon's lair?

"We make for the Gap of Rohan," Frodo spoke quickly.

That motivated Boromir to speak. "We can be there in a matter of days. Let us be away from this accursed place!"

And then they heard it.

It was low at first, somewhere off in the distance, but everyone had managed to hear it regardless. It sounded like wolves, but it was apparently enough to set every single member of the Fellowship on edge, making them look all around in a frightened manner.

Another howl sounded, closer this time. It sounded like wolves, but at the same time not like wolves. The pitch and tone was all wrong, making it sound far more frightening, causing more than a few hairs to stand on end.

"Wolves?" Spike asked as he looked to the others.

"No. This is something far worse than any pack of wolves," Aragorn stated.

"I fear that we have no choice in the matter at this point," Gandalf spoke up, "we have little choice but to brave the mines of Moria. At least the Balrog is dormant. Quickly now, we must seal the gates!"

For Twilight and the others to hear Gandalf urging them all into Moria, after being fearful of going inside just minutes ago, spoke volumes as to how bad the source of the approaching howls was. Whatever it was making its way towards them, was apparently even more terrifying than the prospect of a Balrog.

With little in the way of discussion the group hurried into the entrance, Twilight using her magic to force the doors shut once again. So long as... whatever it was that was practically breathing down their necks couldn't read Sindarin, and couldn't speak it, they'd be alright. For the time being anyway.

"Will that hold them?" Fluttershy asked.

"Ah sure hope so," Applejack stated.

"Quietly now. It is a four-day journey to the other side. Let us hope our presence will go unnoticed," Gandalf whispered as he started up the stairs.

Like a whip crack, all eyes and heads turned to regard Pinkie in unison.

"What?" Pinkie asked.



The Fellowship had been wandering Moria for over two days now, and it was quickly coming closer to three.

They walked slowly and cautiously, making sure to keep to the thin path and avoid all the crevices that opened up to the thick darkness. They mostly kept quiet, for when one spoke aloud their voice made echoes in the empty chasm, and to disturb the silence could mean attracting unwanted attention. When they stopped, they ate and drank sparingly, for they knew not if there would be any setbacks in the journey to reach the eastern side of the mountain.

It was also during this time that they discovered just how extensive Twilight's injuries went. Beyond the burst blood vessels in her eyes, one of her wings had also been plucked of a number of primary feathers by the Watcher, leaving her incapable of flight. According to Rainbow Dash's assessment of the damage, it would take weeks for the feathers to fully grow back in; much to Twilight's annoyance, as she'd just gotten back to flying, only to have it taken away from her once again.

Coming up on the third day, they now walked along a narrow path, their left side a steep, unaccommodating wall and their right side opening to a large, black abyss. Most members of the Company all but hugged the wall and as far away from the edge as possible.

Gandalf shone the light from his staff about them, looking with particular interest at the walls. They seemed to glimmer in the light. "The wealth of Moria was not in gold, nor jewels, but mithril," he stated, letting his staff hover above the abyss.

Slowly and cautiously, everyone who dared to looked down. The light illuminated the chasm a bit, and they could see that it went down for miles and miles, past the sight of even the elf's keen eyes.

"Mithril?" Rarity asked. "What is that?"

"Pure silver, lass," Gimli answered as he looked upon his forefather's work in silent pride. "Rarer than any jewel or other precious metal, mithril was sought out by all dwarves and other races." With typical dwarvish enthusiasm for all things metalworking he further explained, "Mithril can be polished like glass and its beauty does not tarnish with age like common silver. It can also be beaten like copper, and crafted into armor that can withstand any blow, even one I think from Applejack's bucks."

Applejack chuckled in response. "It might, but Ah doubt the fella wearin' it would jus' shake it off."

"Is this mithril on the walls?" Twilight asked with obvious interest, pointing out the shimmering glints of dust in the stone.

"Aye, but that's just a pinch of it," Gimli said, stroking the walls lovingly. "I wish I had my tools for this. Moria is the only place known in Middle-Earth with mithril, and a good amount of it too!"

"We do not have enough time to mine anything, even mithril," Aragorn whispered, turning to face them. "Let us move on. We do not want to disturb anything within these mines."

"We can always come back for it after we're done. I doubt it's going anywhere," Pinkie pointed out.

They started to move again. "Bilbo had a shirt of mithril rings that Thorin gave him," Gandalf said thoughtfully.

"Ah, now that, my friends, is a kingly gift!" Gimli said in awe.

"Yes. I never told him, but its value is probably greater than the value of the Shire, and everything in it," he said with a small laugh.

"Where is it now?" Rarity asked, a glint within her eyes. She wasn't a metal worker, but to hear them speak of its value, she could only imagine what creations she would make with mithril. And if dear Bilbo had a shirt of it, she could perhaps take some inspiration from it.

"Probably still gathering dust in the Michel Delving Mathom-house, I suppose," Gandalf replied, chuckling as he shook his head.

"What!" cried Gimli with shock. "It should be on a prince, not in a museum of the Shire gathering dust!"

Gandalf shook his head again. "Well, we cannot worry about that now," he said. "Let us move on."

Fluttershy glanced at Frodo; he looked to be slightly troubled and she frowned. "Are you all right, Frodo?"

He abruptly came back to the present. "Oh yes, I am fine, Fluttershy," he said, and swiftly walked past her to join Gandalf.

Her frown did not disappear, but she soon concluded that his strange behavior was because of the mines or the Ring, or both. She didn't need any evil trinket to be bothered by the area; even with the wizard's light to guide their way, the darkness of Moria felt greater and deeper than any darkness she had ever felt before, and she imagined it was the same with the hobbit. The yellow Pegasus did not long dwell on these thoughts, however, and rather concentrated on the path before her and the thought of the sunlight that would warm her once they were out of there.

Within half an hour the thin, precarious path finally ended, but soon the Company found their way was littered with more crevices than in the days before. Thankfully, the lights of Gandalf's staff and Twilight's horn made it so that none of these obstructions came to them by surprise. Without Gandalf or Twilight, it would have been impossible to go through the mines, even with the torches that Aragorn, Rarity, and Boromir held aloft. The crevices were simply too many, and too sudden.

After walking a few more hours they came upon their first true hindrance. They came upon a crossroad that held three passages, all leading east. The one on the left went downwards, while the one on the right rose. The path in the middle ran fairly straight, or so it seemed to them.

Gandalf concentrated equally on each one, a deep frown etched on his face. "I have no memory of this place at all!" he said. The wizard lit up the doorways, looking for some sort of writing to tell him where each passage went. He saw nothing that could help him and sighed. "This is as good a place as any to rest; we have been journeying for a long time and all need it," Gandalf had perched himself cross-legged on a rock in front of the doorways pondering which one the Fellowship should take. The rest of the Fellowship was sitting on the steps while they waited for the wizard's memory to come back to him.

Some members of the Fellowship smoked their pipes while every one of them could hear Pippin whispering to Merry, fretting how hungry he was. Pinkie Pie was sitting next to Gimli on one of the stairs.

"I apologize to you Pinkie for my foolish earlier optimism about Khazad-dum," Gimli said to her quietly.

"You don't need to apologize to me for anything Gimli!" Pinkie replied. "You couldn't have known what happened here."

Gimli nodded before continuing, "Along with my father, my cousin Balin was actually on the adventure where Master Bilbo received his mithril coat. Being a mere lad of sixty or so, I could not join them, but I loved the stories they used to tell about it. When we came here, I hoped Balin could have told them to you and the others, but now..."

"If we don't find your cousin, you'll just have to tell me his stories for him," Pinkie tried to comfort Gimli. "Hopefully you'll tell them to me over a few mugs of the fine dwarven ale that you keep mentioning!"

Gimli gave a small smile in return. "You may pass out from all the ale you consume before I finish telling them Pinkie!"

"Oh we'll see about that," Pinkie replied and giggled.



The Fellowship rested for a total of three hours, some sleeping the whole time, some mostly silent, and others mostly speaking quietly with each other. Near after two hours passed, when Pippin and Merry had fallen asleep, all pipes were away, and everyone was silent for the moment, when both Rainbow Dash and Frodo spotted something to the south, the latter's ears twitching in the process. Frodo went to Gandalf while Rainbow Dash walked over to Aragorn.

Aragorn opened an eye as Rainbow Dash came over. The cyan Pegasus sat down next to him, and the Ranger glanced at her questioningly.

"Are you in need of something?"

"Something's following us," Rainbow Dash whispered, pointing down to where she had seen the movement.

Aragorn followed her hoof. "Gollum," he simply stated.

"Gollum?" Rainbow Dash quickly went through her memory, and her thoughts went back to the council of Elrond and to Bilbo's tale on how he had gained the Ring. "You mean that creature that Bilbo took the Ring from?"

"Do not speak of such matters here!" the Ranger warned her in a sharp hiss. "But yes, it is him. He has been following us now for three days."

"Shouldn't I fly over and catch him or something?" Rainbow Dash asked, lifting an eyebrow. "I'm sure I can catch him before he has a chance to run." She tensed her wings in preparation for flight.

"Nay, do not! Gandalf believes he will have some part to play before this is over, and does not wish for his death."

"That's... that's just stupid."

"It is not my decision to make. Even if it were, I would not so lightly throw Gandalf's advice aside."

"Just because he's wise, doesn't mean he's perfect. Twilight's like the smartest pony I know, and she almost destroyed Ponyville over a homework assignment that she didn't even have to do," Rainbow Dash retorted.

"...You do not say," Aragorn stated, not sure how exactly to reply to something like that.

"Trust me, you wouldn't believe half of the crap we've seen. It'd curl your bear," Rainbow Dash replied, idly wondering if she could hit Gollum from here if she kicked a rock in his direction. Maybe pop him right between the eyes and give him a reason to hang back for a while.

A short while later, Gandalf's chuckle suddenly filled the area. "Ah- it's that way!" He jerked his head toward the door on their far left.

"He's remembered!" Merry exclaimed. Everyone let out a slight sigh of relief.

"No," Gandalf said, picking up his powder-blue hat from the rock beside him, placing it on his gray head, and lit the crystal on his staff again. "But the air doesn't smell so foul down here. Remember, Meriadoc- When in doubt, always follow your nose."

So, they trekked down farther into the darkness, with only Gandalf's crystal and Twilight's horn for light. The tunnel they walked down was narrow, and Spike suspected he had just bumped into a skeleton- honestly, he didn't want nor need to know.

They reached the end of the stairs about two minutes later. "Let me risk a little more light," Gandalf murmured as he held up his staff to shine its light into the cavern even further. "Behold the great realm and dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf!"

The ponies caught their breath along with the rest of the Fellowship at what they saw. Whereas they were horrified when Gandalf's staff revealed the massacre by the Doors of Durin, they were in awe of what his staff revealed now. They saw an enormous stone hall supported by ornate columns that stretched up as far as the eye could see. Gandalf told the Fellowship this wondrous structure was known as the 'Twenty-First Hall' by the dwarves who dwelt in Khazad-dum.

Sam spoke for the whole Fellowship when he remarked at the sight before them. "That's an eye opener, make no mistake."

As the Fellowship continued its journey through the Twenty-First Hall, they eventually came across a set of double doors to their right. Two wooden doors were pushed opened and revealed a room that had a beam of sunlight streaming through its back wall through a small shaft. Gimli gasped when he noticed something in the middle of the room ,and began running towards it. Gandalf and Twilight called out his name, but Gimli could not be persuaded to stop. The rest of the Fellowship walked quickly to follow after him.

As the Fellowship passed through the doors, Gandalf turned to see dwarven runes marked over the doorway they had just entered. "This is the Chamber of Mazarbul, Khazad-dum's chamber of records," he remarked to the rest of the Fellowship with the exception of Gimli.

Gimli was kneeling at what appeared to be a stone altar or sarcophagus. Gimli gave a muffled cry of "No" at the sight before him.

As the fifteen other members of the Fellowship joined him, Twilight noted that the Chamber widened out from the doorway into a large square shaped rooms. There were steps leading up to ledges that ran along the lengths of both sidewalls. On these ledges were what looked to be old bookcases whose contents had long been ransacked, probably by the Goblins Legolas mentioned earlier. Most disturbing were the old dwarf skeletons spread about the room, including one that had been left perched sitting on a small well in the back of the Chamber. She had no idea how it was just sitting there in defiance of gravity.

Gandalf studied the dwarven runes on the stone object that Gimli was kneeling before. "Here lies Balin, Son of Fundin, Lord of Moria," Gandalf interpreted them for the whole Fellowship aloud. "He is dead then, it's as I feared."

Gimli let out a sorrowful moan as Gandalf confirmed the answer to what had happened to his cousin who came here thirty years earlier. As he begun to mumble some prayers in Dwarvish, Fluttershy came up to him and wrapped her forelegs around Gimli in a hug, which Gimli accepted as he wept on her shoulder, as a show of comfort and support.

Gandalf had noticed a thick tome being held by a skeleton leaning against Balin's Tomb, presumably the tome's author in life. Gandalf handed his hat and staff to Pippin so he could remove the tome from the skeletal grasp of its owner. He blew the accumulated dust off the tome's cover before carefully turning its pages of parchment.

Twilight moved next to him and observed the writing. "It's the writing from the coffin," She muttered. Gandalf nodded.

"Yes," He said. "The Angerthas. A writing often used by the Moria Dwarves." With the others, Legolas quietly approached Aragorn.

"We must move on," He whispered as softly as possible. "We cannot linger."

"Give him a minute," Fluttershy whispered firmly from her hug with Gimli, eyes narrowing sharply. When she saw Aragorn and Legolas' surprised looks, she said to Legolas, "That's right, you're not the only one that can hear everything."

Gandalf began reading aloud from the tome. "They have taken the Bridge and the Second Hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes. Drums. Drums in the Deep..."

Gandalf's reading of the account of these dwarves apparent last stand was making Twilight nervous, along with other members of the Fellowship. She appreciated that Gandalf was trying to honor the fallen dwarves by retelling the story of their last moments, and shed light on what they experienced. But if the Fellowship did not resume its journey soon, and if Goblins were still about, they may soon have to record a last stand of their very own.

Holding Gandalf's staff and hat, Pippin tried to tune out what Gandalf was reading. Due to the peaceful life the Shire had afforded him, he could not imagine how horrible it must have been for Gimli's kin to have been trapped in this room awaiting their doom. Pippin tried to distract himself by the skeleton sitting on the well at the back of the Chamber. The skeleton seemed to be holding the well's heavy chained bucket as well as having an arrow lodged in its ribcage. Pippin slowly walked towards it trying to figure out how it remained sitting on the well's edge despite the weight it carried.

He almost yelped as a pink hoof latched onto his arm and pulled him away, Pinkie coming into view and shaking her head. That was enough to break him out of whatever thoughts he'd been having.

They turned back to Gandalf as he continued his narration. "A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out..."

Pinkie wrinkled her nose, desperately trying to hold suppress a sneeze that was wanting to form. She really shouldn't have been standing so close to Gandalf when he'd retrieved the book.

Gandalf came to what appeared to be the last entry in the tome that had been hastily scrawled down on the page with some drops of what presumably was the author's blood, darkened by age. "They are coming..."

There was a moment of silence among the Fellowship. Only for it to be broken as Pinkie's sneeze finally broke loose in full force. Hearing her, one would think it was Princess Luna who had sneezed instead, as it was enough to send Spike falling back against the well.

And as he did, the skeleton perched atop the ledge slowly began sliding backwards.

"Oh no, no, no, no!" Pippin yelled as he quickly reached out to grab the skeleton before it could fall down the well. But all he succeeded in grabbing was the arrow in its chest, which did nothing to stop it from falling down the well, raising a great deal of commotion in the process.

And just to add insult to injury, the corpse was dragging the heavy chain and bucket right along with it. Spike tried to grab it before it could go crashing too, but the momentum it had built up ripped it right from his hands, nearly pulling him off its feet in the process. He was helpless to do anything but listen with the others, at the amount of noise that was caused in the aftermath.

They were all gonna be Balrog chow for certain now.

Gandalf was furious at this point. Whatever element of surprise they had previously, was now long gone. He had done his best to impress upon them just how much danger they faced, and yet they still carried on as if it was the Shire.

"Ach! You idiot! Gandalf told us not to touch anything!"

Gandalf had to stop at that, not expecting Pippin to be the one who would be speaking up at this point, as he confronted Pinkie.

"It's not my fault, it's not like I sneezed on purpose," Pinkie replied defensively. "Besides, Dashie's the only one of us who can actually not touch anything. The rest of us have to touch the floor when we walk on it," she pointed out.

Pippin's response was a frustrated, inarticulate yell as he threw his hands up in resignation, finding Pinkie impossible to deal with.

"Well we're pretty much bucked sideways right now," Rainbow Dash commented.

Twilight gave Rainbow Dash a hard glare. But before she can scold her for such pessimism, she heard a loud rhythmic pounding that seemed to come from out of the well that echoed throughout the Chamber. The rest of the Fellowship also heard the pounding sound coming through the Chamber's entrance.

"Drums in the Deep..." Rarity whispered.

The pounding of drums was quickly followed by the echoes of numerous high pitched screeches and howls. Looking at Frodo's scabbard, Sam gasped. "Frodo?" The Equestrians were taken aback when Frodo withdrew Sting to reveal its blade was glowing light blue. Their mystery of why it was doing this was answered in one word by Legolas, who was listening to the screeches to determine their source. "Orcs!" he proclaimed with warning.

Boromir turned and ran to another set of doors, where the scattered, strange noises were coming from. Rainbow Dash followed, hovering behind him. The rainbow-maned Pegasus ran out first, followed immediately by Boromir. The Gondorian suddenly grabbed Rainbow Dash by the scruff of her neck and ripped her back- a good thing, considering that a moment later, an arrow buried itself in the wooden door behind them- right where Rainbow Dash's head had been.

Rainbow Dash was pale as a sheet as she stared at the embedded arrow that would have instantly killed her. She really owed her LIFE to Boromir.

Another arrow zoomed in and hit the door near Boromir's face, making him jerk back.

He and Rainbow Dash jumped back into the tomb, and pulled the doors shut. Aragorn and Applejack joined them a moment later, pushing up against the doors.

Boromir, who had gotten a fairly good look at what was coming at them, had a wry and dark look on his face. "They have a cave troll," he wryly commented mostly to Aragorn.

Applejack had no knowledge of what a 'Cave Troll' in Middle-earth was, but given Boromir's tone she was willing to bet it was a lot bigger and meaner opponent than orcs and Goblins were. Given the situation she wasn't going to ask if it was as bad as the Watcher though.

"Now that jus' ain't fair," she commented.

"I will be sure to let them know of your objections," Boromir replied sarcastically.

"Stay behind Gandalf!" Aragorn called to Fluttershy, Spike and the Hobbits. Legolas and Rarity, thinking quickly, grabbed some axes and spears from a nearby rack and tossed them to Aragorn, Boromir and Applejack. The two warriors and farmer slammed them into the door handles, forming a makeshift lock bracing. "They'll break through this, but it'll buy us some time to get into defensive positions," Aragorn muttered. "Rainbow, Applejack, get back and get ready."

Applejack and Rainbow Dash, still pale, nodded and ran back to stand next to Twilight and Rarity.

Gandalf drew his sword, Glamdring, while the Hobbits pulled out their swords, and Spike, his hand-axe. Legolas, Rarity and Aragorn strung arrows onto their bows. Applejack and Rainbow Dash tensed up their muscles in preparation for a charge.

While the others got ready for battle, Twilight took a different approach, working her magic on the barricade. It was enveloped in her aura, the surface rippling as it was forcibly changed and warped into something new. Gone were the two wooden doors, and assortment of weapons in front of it. Now it stood in the form of a single panel of wood, the grain running from side to side rather than top to bottom, with two large steel bars anchored at the top and bottom.

"They'll have a much harder time getting through a single piece of wood when the grain is against them," she explained.

A moment later, the Fellowship was prepared for the incoming attack. Gimli, with a murmured word of respect, climbed atop Balin's Tomb, axe at hand. "Let them come! There is one dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath! Khazad-dum!"

"Khazad-dum!" Pinkie yelled. Several eyes were soon on her in confusion. "What? We need a battle cry," she stated.

Rainbow Dash just shrugged in response. "Khazad-dum!" she yelled, figuring it was as good as anything else.

Pinkie, meanwhile, was looking around the chamber for a weapon to defend herself with until she spotted a large pile of rocks by the far wall, most of them about the size of a hoof. Grinning, she gathered as many rocks as her forelegs can carry and joined Gimli on top of the tomb, standing on her hind legs.

"We're not going to get out of this one without ending a few lives, are we?" Rarity asked solemnly, already suspicious of the answer; suspicious enough to already be readying an arrow.

"Live long enough to actually have regrets to experience," Aragorn commented.

Facing the chamber entrance, the Fellowship arrayed itself in battle order. In the order's front line from left to right stood Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Aragorn, Legolas, Rarity and Boromir. Gimli and Pinkie Pie stood on top of Balin's Tomb and were standing behind Legolas. Behind Applejack and Aragorn were Gandalf, Fluttershy, Spike and the four hobbits.

On the other side of the door the Goblins began pounding on the door, trying to break through. And all too soon, despite having to cut against the grain, weapons started breaking through the barricade, splintering spaces of the door.

The first clear gap that was opened was quickly utilized, as Legolas shot an arrow through the gap and a shrill cry ringing out from impact with a Goblin unfortunate enough to be on the other side. The Elf notches another arrow to his bow as Aragorn shoots another Goblin through the gap in the door, quickly followed by Rarity's arrow, much to her own amazement.

Despite the number of arrows being sent downrange, it did little good. It was only a matter of seconds before the Goblins succeeded in bringing down the barricade, and charge at the Fellowship.

As soon as they broke through, however, Pinkie's barrage started, numerous rocks being hurled downrange and slamming into the incoming horde, knocking them off their feet in the process, with bits of their chest plates breaking off from the force of the impact.

Aragorn, Legola, and Rarity continued in their storm of arrows as the Goblins poured through the doorway. Pinkie continued with her own barrage, bowling many goblins, however in just a couple of seconds, she'd managed to exhaust her supplies and had to hurry to gather more rocks, and place a pile on her foreleg. It was that break in the siege that gave the goblins the opportunity necessary to pour into the chamber, and close the distance to the point where bows and arrows would be useless. Now it was time for getting up close and personal.

Gimli yelled in a battle cry as Aragorn quickly puts away his bow and arrow and draws his sword as a Goblin jumps at him, managing to cut across the goblin's unprotected stomach. Boromir charged forward, blocking a goblin with his shield and then stabbing it, while Legolas moved behind the safety of the others as he continues to fire his arrows at the attacking Goblins, using the tip of an arrow to stab a Goblin if it gets too close to him.

Rarity shot an arrow into the Goblin that jumps at her, making sure to dodge the body that flies at her, and quickly rolls to her left, finding her back against the wall as another goblin charge towards her in reach, she quickly shot another arrow at the goblin, taking it down before it can reach her.

One goblin charged at Gimli and Pinkie Pie on the tomb, and Gimli quickly lobs off its head with his axe. With a yell, Gandalf launches himself into the fray, with Spike and the Hobbits following close behind, each of them knowing that they either had to fight, or they were going to die.

Twilight made use of her mana sword to block a goblin's own rusted metal sword, before -reluctantly- stabbing it into her combatant's gut.

Applejack, not being able to use a weapon, had to rely on her own bucking capabilities to keep goblins back, kicking wildly and fiercely at anything that got too close to her. Some went flying back from the force they were subjected to, their armor breaking under the impact of her hooves.

And then she felt a heavy weight landing on her back as she was roughly grabbed. Looking back one of the goblins had managed to jump onto her back.

"Get off me ya no good ornery varmint!" she shouted and began to thrash about wildly, treating the situation like a rodeo back home. She wasn't about to stand for being rode by any goblin, orc, or whatever these things were accurately called.

Spike's primary tactic of combat was exhaling massive jets of green flames anytime a goblin got too close for his own comfort. And at seeing what he could do, most were all too willing to give him a large berth, knowing that a dragon wasn't to be approached lightly.

"I should've just stood by the doorway and breathed at them," he commented to himself.

Rainbow Dash was all over the place, literally and figuratively, in her combat efforts. Her fighting style was much like it had been when she'd faced the Uruk-Hai back at Orthanc, while coupled with her high speed to get in, confront a goblin up close and personal, knock it silly, and then move onto the next one before it knew what had hit it.

Through all of the chaos unfolding, Fluttershy crouched down as she carefully navigated the battlefield, with goblins tripping over her as she muttered an apology to every last one, before Spike or one of the hobbits would come and finish off the downed goblin before it had a chance to get up. She looked up and shrieked when she saw a Goblin standing over her with its sword raised to cut her down. But before it could actually do that, it received an arrow to the neck as it falls down to the ground, lifeless. Fluttershy turned to see Legolas with his bow pointed at where the Goblin used to stand, flashing Fluttershy a smile as he focused back on the rest of the goblins.

Frodo ducked under a goblin's sword, Pippin prepares to face another, Merry stabs one goblin multiple times, Sam drives his sword right through one goblin's stomach, and Spike sliced opened the legs and feet of any Goblin that was too close for him to exhale fire at.

Rarity was certainly no fool. She realized that the number of goblins pouring into the chamber was greater than the number of arrows they had at their disposal. And they were getting far too close, far too quickly, for arrows to continue being an option. She had little choice but to draw her sword and engage them at close quarters... until she saw a dropped goblin sword, and opted to snag it instead. She'd much rather risk damaging something as crude as it, rather than her own elven blade.

Now if she could just get her heart to quit pounding in her ears as they approached her.

To any onlooker in the battle, Rarity looked like she was dancing/gliding through the Goblin horde with her elegant, beautiful, and graceful moves that screamed perfection and deadly precision. Or at least that was her own interpretation of what they'd see...

Twilight didn't have a clue as to what motivated the goblins to rush them like they were, but they weren't showing any signs of letting up anytime soon. And she really, really didn't want to have to kill all of them. Although she doubted they'd be giving her much choice in the matter.

"Get off me, ya ornery varmint!" she heard Applejack yelling as she jumped and bucked wildly, before finally throwing the goblin on her back off and to the ground. "They jus' don' let up!"

"Tell me about it," Twilight commented as she saw another goblin coming for them. "HEY!" she yelled at it. "Ever hear of pinball?" she asked, causing it to quirk its head to the side in confusion as she blasted it, but it generated no visible result. "Applejack! Buck it!"

"Ya got it, sugarcube," she stated as she spun around and kicked the goblin, sending it flying with enough force to crash into the wall, only to bounce off and go flying in an entirely different direction, crashing into anything in its path. "Now wha' was that?"

"It'd take too long to explain. Suffice to say, it's going ballistic, and will be for a while," Twilight stated, before ducking as another goblin was sent flying for one reason or another. If the goblins weren't going to leave them alone, then they might as well be useful to their cause.



Sam paused in the heat of battle, his attention drawn upwards by a new commotion. Aragorn also looked up as the cave troll smashed its way through the doorway, chains leading from its neck to two pairs of goblin hands. The troll then lets out a loud bellow, catching the attention of the others as they looked at it. Legolas quickly shoots the cave troll in the shoulder; the beast growls and claps a hand to the wound. Sam continues to stare, frozen, as the troll swings its mace down at the Hobbit.

"AHHHHH!" Sam yells in terror as he dove under and through the troll's legs and crawled away as the troll turns, and sighted him again.

The troll walks over to where Sam had cornered himself and raised its left foot as it was about to squash Sam as he cringed. Until it suddenly felt something pulling back on it, nearly throwing it off balance.

"Pick on someone your own size you fat motherbucker!" Rainbow Dash yelled, forelegs wrapped around the chain as she pulled back on it with all of her might. She was quickly joined by Aragorn, Boromir, and Applejack, each of them pulling back as hard as they could, nearly toppling the beast in the process.

And then they pulled again and send it toppling over.

"Timber!" Boromir yelled in surprise as the troll fell, hitting the ground hard, and crushing a goblin that was unfortunate enough to be in its path.

"Aw yeah!" Rainbow Dash cheered as she raised her hoof high for Boromir to slap with his hand. They were buckin' awesome!

Unfortunately their celebrating was far too premature, as the troll was getting back onto its feet, and retaliating by swinging its club at them, forcing them to scatter. But at least their efforts had given Sam the opportunity needed to escape.

Although that wasn't to say that Rainbow Dash refrained from delivering a flying kick to the troll's face when the opening presented itself, much to its displeasure and discomfort.

Standing upon the tomb of Balin, Gimli threw one of his axes at the troll, piercing its shoulder near Legola's arrow prior, while Pinkie Pie threw rocks at the troll. The troll ignored both as it walks towards Gimli and Pinkie, and then swings its mace into the tomb, shattering it and forcing the dwarf and the party pony to jump off to avoid getting smashed.

Twilight ran over to Merry, Pippin and Frodo in the middle of the battle, opting to blast a charging goblin out of the way.

"Merry, Pippin take Frodo and try to keep out of that troll's sight, got it!?"

"On it Twilight," Merry said as he and Pippin quickly took Frodo to safety, the three of them getting behind a pillar on the upper catwalk.

Gimli hacked at one goblin as the troll swings its mace at him, while ducked and the monster struck an attacking goblin instead, while yet another goblin came at Gimli from behind as he fell down.

From where she stood, Twilight was doing her best to survey how things were progressing. So far they'd been managing to hold their own against the ever-increasing influx of goblins anxious to cut them to pieces, and without actually suffering any casualties. Of course there was still the cave troll to be dealing with, but one crisis at a time.

Her focus returned to what was in front of her just in time to see a mess of goblins making for her. Only for them to be scattered as Pinball Goblin plowed right through them. At least they had that going in their favor, so long as they knew to avoid his trajectory.



Gandalf knocked out a goblin with his staff, and then sliced another behind him with his sword while twisting around. Rarity jumped up onto higher ground and shot an arrow at a goblin in front of her, sticking it against the wall in the process, much to her own amazement.

Although that amazement was short-lived as she saw the troll was no longer being preoccupied by Rainbow Dash, and was readying the chain around its neck as a weapon, and had its sights fixed firmly on Legolas...

"Legolas!"

The sneak attack failed in no small part thanks to Rarity's advanced alert, allowing the elven archer to avoid being struck by the incoming swing by ducking down.

And then came the timely intervention of Rainbow Dash and Applejack joining the fray; the former latching onto the end of the chain and pulling it up and around the nearest pillar, and the latter helping anchor it in place, stopping the troll from being able to ready another swing.

"Nail the big fella already!" Applejack yelled out.

Legolas took the opening and ran up the chain onto the troll's shoulders, and and fired an arrow point blank at the troll's head, only for it to break on contact with the thick skull it was up against. With the element of surprise now gone, the troll returned its focus to him, forcing a tactical retreat back to relative safety.

"Alright, that's it!" Rainbow Dash stated as she prepared for desperate measures. Applejack could hold the troll in place for a bit, giving her the opportunity to act. Looking around she spotted a discarded goblin shield and picked it up in her front hooves, before flying directly at it. "Eat this!" she yelled as she raised the shield high and smashed it over the troll's head, shattering the rusted construct in the process; evidence of just how hard of a head they were up against. Applejack had nothing on this brute.

The fact the shield had broken, however, did nothing to dissuade her from her next course of action though. That being to slug it out with the troll, laying into it with a series of blows to its face as hard as she could, much like when she'd fought with the Uruk-Hai back in Isengard. And despite how tough the troll was, it could still experience the effects of pain, and there was plenty of pain to be felt right now.

"RD, hurry it up! This big fella pulls harder than an angry buffalo!" Applejack yelled as she held fast to the chain wrapped around the stone pillar, all the while finding it increasingly difficult to keep it where it was.

And then she heard the sound of the chain snapping at the collar. Now the troll was free, and there was nothing she could do about it...



Sam, meanwhile, was forced into the position of actually having to get down and dirty with the goblins; mainly in the form of walloping them with his cast iron skillet as they got close, finding it much more familiar in his hand than his sword.

"I think I'm getting the hang of this!" he stated as he smacked another goblin that came at him from behind, barely managing to avoid hitting Spike in the process.

"Yeah, frightening isn't it?" Spike replied as he slammed the pole end of his axe onto a goblin's foot, causing it to hop in pain, and letting him use the bearded portion to hook its other ankle and pull it down to the ground.

"Tilt!"

"What was that?" Sam asked, caught off guard by the sudden yell from somewhere in the room.

"Don't know, don't care," Spike replied, too focused on the fight at hand to worry about anything else.

And then came an all new commotion.



Rainbow Dash's hooves, as well as her pasterns, were aching terribly right now. Despite her best efforts at slugging things out with the troll, the best she had managed was bloodying up its face. This thing was obviously a lot tougher than any Uruk-Hai. Granted it was feeling the pain too, and actually moving away from her, but she hardly counted that as a worthwhile return; not when her intention was knocking it out.

She considered the chain that had just broken off from the collar. She could grab it, wrap it around the troll's neck, and try choking it out. But there were still too many goblin archers around for her to stay stationary for that long. The risk was too great, and she knew that even with all the adrenaline pumping through her system.

At least the troll wasn't fixated on her right now. At least she had that going in her favor.

"These fellas play rough," Applejack commented, before kicking a goblin right in the face as it advanced on her.

"I'm SO not getting butt rutted by these guys!" Rainbow Dash commented as she swooped down next to Applejack, and proceeded to pull the chain loose from the pillar.

"Now jus' wha' in the hay are ya gonna do with that?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, I'm making it up as I go along," Rainbow Dash commented before pulling the chain loose, and flying back into the fray with it.



After departing from Rainbow Dash the troll has found the other three hobbits as they walked out into the open on the high ground, and attacked after picking up its mace, attempting to smash the trio, but wound up smashing the walkway instead, forcing them to separate.

"FRODO!" Aragorn yelled, seeing him and the other hobbits separated as he continued to engage the goblins.

Frodo quickly hid on the other side of the pillar as the troll looked for him from the opposite side he was on.

Meanwhile, Aragorn continued his efforts to fight his way to Frodo, punching a goblin to his right with his left arm, and then twisting around and cutting another goblin across the stomach.

Back with Frodo, the troll was beginning to move to the other side, causing Frodo to quickly move to the other side to avoid the troll, before it came in from the other side, sniffing for him. It disappeared shortly after, and Frodo carefully looked around the pillar to see the troll gone, drawing a deep breath in the process.

Applejack joined Aragorn in fighting their way to Frodo, kicking one goblin off the high ground, and then bucking another goblin against a pillar.

As Frodo breathed a sigh of relief, the troll appeared again around the pillar, roaring in the hobbit's face, causing him to stumble and fall back behind the pillar in a corner. The troll still found him nevertheless and grabbed him by his leg, lifting him up off the ledge.

"Aragorn! Applejack!" Frodo yells desperately.

Aragorn and Applejack breathed heavily, exhausted. Still, they continue on. "Frodo!"

Frodo slashed the troll's hand with his sword, causing it to drop him to the ground, twisting its injured hand and staring at it. Frodo laid on the floor, the wind knocked out of him from his less than graceful landing. The troll, recovered from its injury, raised its mace to swing down on him, but Aragorn leaped down into the gap with a spear in hand and rammed it into the beast's front, but fails to penetrate deep enough into the thick hide, only bruising it with the spear.

Applejack was soon to join in the fray, unleashing a powerful buck to the troll's exposed leg. Unfortunately while it wobbled, and possibly suffered a fracture, it showed no signs of actually slowing down. It was even tougher than the Nazgul had been, and that was saying something.

A shower of rocks soon followed, coming from Merry, Pippin, and Pinkie who had joined in, bouncing stones right off its thick skull, much to its annoyance. And then came a loose pillar courtesy of Pinkie, shattering against its head and dazing it good, but still not bringing it down; if anything it was just getting angrier and started swinging recklessly at them, forcing them to scatter.

And as they scattered for their own safety, the troll returned its attention to Frodo, and slowly picked up the spear Aragorn had used against it.



Rainbow Dash had recognized that her efforts against the cave toll were going to be futile, and all she'd succeed in doing was tire herself out faster. It was just too big, and too strong to be a one-pony effort. So while the others focused on it, she was doing her best to keep the goblins focused on her instead of them. If she kept the goblins away, they might have a chance of bringing the troll down.

And in her case, that involved rearing up on her hind legs and wildly swinging the chain about at any goblin unfortunate enough to be within her reach. And if they didn't happen to be in reach of her chain? Then she moved into range so that they couldn't avoid her, slamming it into them from any number of improbable angles as she spun about, presenting them with a danger from whatever direction they might try and come.

More than a few goblins had been unfortunate enough to get chain whipped to varying degrees of severity. Some really unfortunate ones had found one of their limbs ensnared, and were subsequently pulled right off the ground and used to add to the chaos as they were pulled off the ground and flung into their brethren like a wrecking ball.

Some had launched counterattacks against her, as was to be expected. And if it weren't for her mad maneuvering skills, and quick thinking, she would've lost more than a few feathers like Twilight had. Individual links of the chain would be used to catch sword tips, the chain itself would be used to parry slashes and ensnare axe heads, or shaved forward to slam into their faces when they got just a little too close for her own comfort.

She'd be the first to admit, it was more luck than anything that left her unscathed throughout it all.

Unfortunately that luck apparently didn't extend to other member of their party; something realized when she saw Frodo get impaled by the troll's spear, pinning him to the far wall of the chamber.

"No!"



Frodo couldn't quite remember the last time he'd felt this much pain in his life. The morgul blade was certainly up there, but it was an entirely different sort of pain compared to now. At least with the morgul blade he'd been semi-coherent of his surroundings, and what had been going on around him.

This time around, however, the impact of being slammed against the wall had completely knocked the wind out of him, leaving him dazed and disoriented, unable to properly focus on what was unfolding around him with the cave troll. He was vaguely aware of the others screaming something or other, but he wasn't really comprehending any of it. His mind felt like it was in a fog, and his vision felt blurry, making it hard to focus on anything. He tried to get a better look, but the throbbing in the back of his head made it far too painful to do anything but simply lay still, and wait for the world around him to stop moving so wildly.

"NO!"

It was the loud, piercing shriek of a wail that cut through the haze more than anything. He struggled to focus his eyes, but all he saw was a yellow and pink blur coming out of nowhere, and slamming into the blur that was the troll with a sickening thud even he could hear, followed a loud groan as it collapsed on the ground.



Twilight couldn't believe what she'd just witnessed happen; not any of it. But whether or not she believed it, that didn't change the fact that things had happened as she'd seen them happen.

Frodo, despite their best efforts at watching out for him, had fallen victim to the troll, impaled on the end of a spear like he was fixings for a shish kabob.

And then out of nowhere had come a wailing Fluttershy, who had spent the entire battle hiding away, and slammed into the back of the troll's neck with such force, a snapping sound not unlike crisp celery practically echoed off the chamber walls. What followed next was the troll's head taking on an unnatural angle as it groaned and fell to the ground, its body completely lifeless on impact.

The cave troll, which Rainbow Dash had found far too strong to take on by herself -to say nothing of the rest of them- had just been killed with a single blow from Fluttershy of all ponies. How did something like that happen?

The sounds of battle had all come to a stop at this point, everyone displaying varying degrees of surprise, disbelief, and fear. Even the remaining goblins, which had been anxious to tear them apart just a while ago, were now making a retreat out of the chamber in light of seeing their greatest force so easily dispatched. She couldn't really blame them for their fear, as even she was afraid at this point.

By now the realization was setting in for Fluttershy; that much was apparent from the look on her face. She was the absolute last pony Twilight would've ever thought would actually take the life of another for any reason, regardless of the circumstances they found themselves in. And yet she'd freely done just that in response to Frodo being killed. Now came the aftermath when the gravity of the situation hit her full force.

Rarity had been by her side in an instant, weapons disregarded as she pulled the distraught Pegasus into a firm hug, assuring her that everything was alright. Twilight knew that it likely wouldn't be alright, but there was little else that they could really do at this point in time.

There was a moment of silence as the Fellowship regrouped in the middle of the tomb, as the many dead bodies of the goblins now littered the floor along with the dead cave troll in the middle. Gandalf and everyone else quickly rushed over to Frodo's downed position, as Aragorn crawled to him, having woken up from being knocked out in his struggles with the troll.

"Oh no," Aragorn whispered.

"The ring."

It was Rainbow Dash's statement as she slowly approached Frodo's body that brought Twilight back to her senses regarding her surroundings.

"We need to take the ring. We... we can't just leave it here, Sauron will get it for sure," she pointed out shakily as she stepped closer, wrestling with remorse over the loss of a comrade, the desire to simply have the ring for herself, and a sense of guilt for not being able to stop the troll on her own.

"I am not dead just yet..." Frodo groaned painfully as Rainbow Dash's hoof touched him, causing her to jump back in surprise.

"He's alive!" Twilight shouted to the others in amazement.

Aragorn quickly approached and turned Frodo's body over as the hobbit groaned, gasping for air, the whole Fellowship sighing in relief.

"I'm all right," Frodo said, dazed, as though trying to convince himself of this.

"But... how though?" Rainbow Dash asked, not understanding what was going on.

"Rainbow Dash is right. You should be dead! That spear would have skewered a wild boar," Gimli stated.

Gandalf stepped forward, leaning a bit on his staff. "I think there's more to this hobbit than meets the eye," he said. Frodo stared, and then quietly pulled aside his jacket and shirt, to reveal a shiny, hard type of shirt beneath.

"Wow..." Spike whispered, "what is that?"

"Mithril! You are full of surprises, Master Baggins," Gimli said with a small smile.

"That's what harvested mithril looks like?" Rarity asked, her eyes shining with inspiration on what she can make with the shirt if given the opportunity.

"That still doesn't explain how he's alive," Twilight pointed out as she stepped closer, "I can accept that the mithril provided more resistance than the troll's spear could overcome, thus keeping Frodo from being skewered like a marshmallow at a campfire. But that still wouldn't keep him from experiencing the blunt force trauma that went along with it. His bones should've been broken from the impact," she explained.

The only theory that came to mind, was that the mithril was laced from some unrecognized magic that enabled it to shield against blunt force trauma, and disperse it in a way that kept the wearer from suffering horrible injuries. That was the only thing that made sense right now.

But before she could actually conduct any scans of the shirt to see for herself, the sounds of the goblins could be heard. Gandalf and the others looked at the main door to see the shadows of many goblins approaching their position.

"Man don't they ever give up!?" Rainbow Dash yelled out.

"Is there another way out of here?" Twilight asked as she charges up a spell from her horn.

"Yes... To the Bridge of Khazad-dum!" Gandalf yelled, turning and jabbing his staff at the door.

"Fluttershy, look at me, darling," Rarity spoke as she brought her friend's attention to her. "I know what you're going through right now with the troll, I really do. But you need to hold it together a little bit longer, until we're out of the mines. Can you do that?" she asked.

Fluttershy could only mumble in response, but she managed to nod regardless.

The Fellowship quickly got up and headed through the hole in the wall into a high, ornate hall of pillars with a ray of light breaking through from some high shaft. Twilight ran besides Gandalf with her spell at the ready, Rainbow Dash was doing her best to tone down her speed as her natural Pegasus speed would of left everyone else behind but at the same time trying to run fast like the others to escape from the massive goblin horde that was pursuing them.

"Twilight! How many do you see!?"

"I can't tell! They keep on popping up all over the place!"

"We're in so much trouble," Rainbow Dash commented as she eyed the hundreds -or maybe thousands- of goblins that had them surrounded on all sides, cutting off all their escape routes. There was no way they could take on all of them at once; she knew she sure couldn't. "Any ideas for how we get out of this one?"

"Well, one idea. But it's awful risky," Twilight stated as she kept her eyes darting back and forth.

"And this isn't risky?" Rarity asked.

"Whatever it is, do it! Do it!" Merry urged.

Twilight knew that they were right. If she didn't act, things would end very poorly for all of them. The risks were extreme no matter what course of action would be taken. She gave a solemn nod, took a deep breath, and with the aid of the Royal Canterlot Voice unleashed the most massive, intimidating, animalistic roar that she could manage.

Her tactic went far beyond an enhanced roar, however, as she was supplementing it with forcing more magic into her presence, much like when she'd broken up the arguing at Elrond's council, in order to create an overwhelming presence in the area that would be hard for anyone to ignore; like a sudden and intense change in the air pressure. Added to that was the bright glow coming from her eyes, which had taken on a blood red sheen due to the hemorrhage of several days previously.

That, combined with the acoustics of the mine's chamber they were in, caused a magnified effect that left the ground feeling like it was trembling beneath her hooves, as the others were forced to cover their ears. But it also had the effect of causing the goblins to halt their advancement, and stare wide-eyed at them.

Finally the need to breathe became overwhelming, and it necessitated her stopping her verbal assault against them.

"That was the best you could do?" Rainbow Dash asked in disbelief. She'd been expecting something a lot bigger than just an angry roar. Making it worse, whatever shock value it'd held, it was wearing off, as the goblins seemed intent on eating them again.

And then another roar sounded in the distance, far different from what Twilight had managed. That one caused the goblins to panic, and retreat as fast as they could in every direction, even scaling the massive pillars like a hoard of cockroaches.

None of them knew for certain what it was that caused that roar. But they all had a good idea of what it might be, as they saw the glow of fire slowly approaching their position.

"Ah think we jus' went from bad ta worse," Applejack commented.

"I think... I think I might have just wound up challenging the balrog for dominance," Twilight stated uneasily, unsure of what else to say. She knew the risks of using the roar here in Moria, but it was the only thing she could think of at the moment. Now she was deeply regretting it. "This... this is gonna be so bad."

"In ways that you cannot possibly comprehend," Gandalf said in a low tone. "RUN!"

None of them needed to be told twice. Like an arrow from a bow, they were off, running behind Gandalf as he led them out of the chamber.

"Quickly!" Gandalf stated as he and Aragorn ushered the others through the doorway and to the stairs that would lead them to the bridge to Khazad-dûm. Only to notice that about half of their party was nowhere to be found. Looking back he saw Twilight and the others standing around calmly and casually. The fools! "Quickly! This foe is beyond any of you!"

"Actually, we've got this," Rainbow Dash replied as she turned to look in Gandalf's direction, a total absence of fear in her voice as she spoke.

"Perdy much. This ain't our first rodeo. We've been known ta knock a few demonic entities down in our time," Applejack added with a nod.

"We kicked their butts hard!" Pinkie stated and bounced.

"O-only because they started it. We couldn't just do nothing," Fluttershy clarified.

"We'll take care of this, it's pretty much our fault anyway. You go on ahead, we'll catch up," Twilight told him, before turning back around to watch the fire coming closer. "What do you think, girls? Should we go all out right off the bat?"

"Oh most definitely," Rarity stated and nodded. "There's no sense to let this brute linger a moment longer than necessary. Let's get this over with and be done with it."

Gandalf couldn't believe what he was hearing, or seeing. These ponies were foolish, they were insane, they were crazy! They thought that they could defeat something like a balrog by themselves?

Another roar in the distance brought all of their attention forward. The balrog had appeared them. Tall, towering over all of them at a good forty feet, its body a perverse amalgamation of fire and shadow in a strong bipedal musculature, flames jetting out form the cracks in its shadowy skin, its beastial skull wrapped in a sheathe of untamed flames.

It was far, far more terrifying than Gandalf's description had done justice.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy squeaked and shrank back in terror.

"Steady there, Sugarcube," Applejack said as she braced against Fluttershy backing into her. "It ain't over yet."

"We'll take it down!" Rainbow Dash stated firmly as she flared her wings.

A guttural roar from the balrog as it approached on its hind legs, tail swinging from side to side with each step took, did nothing to suggest that it was terrified of their front.

"Alright, girls, let's do it!" Twilight stated, urging them on to victory despite the odds. They'd faced down the likes of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, and even Tirek. This balrog had nothing on them.

"Rainbow Harmony Powers activate!"

It was a shared unison from the six of them, followed by each of them being engulfed in a column of light, that snapped Gandalf out of his own thoughts on the matter, and forced him to look away as a piercing, whistling noise enveloped the chamber. And then came the outward explosion of something that he had never before experienced in his life, and was nearly knocked right off of his feet because of it.

When the light became slightly more tolerable to his old eyes, and he could look out and see what had happened, he became aware of the fact that the six of them looked far different, radiating magic the likes of which he had never felt before. It was simultaneously oppressive to the point of being able to crush the soul, and overwhelming brilliant and comforting, like the sun on a calm spring day. It inspired hope, and optimism, and... the urge to squeal like an excited child as he bore witness.

"Break!"

The yell broke Gandalf out of his trance, as she six of them, each engulfed in a field of bright light, literally flew off and slammed into the balrog's chest with enough force to knock the demon right off its feet, and send it flying backwards, before crash landing on its back with a heavy thud that shook the ground. And they had done it all with apparent ease. How was this possible?

"Gandalf?"

It was Aragorn who placed his hand on his shoulder, bringing him back to the present, breaking his focus on how the balrog was getting up again. The would-be king stood beside him, just as confused as he himself was.

"What sort of magic is this?"

"According to what they have said, it is the magic of friendship..."



There was nothing but fury on the part of the balrog as it swung at the bright lights assaulting it, only to come up with nothing but a handful of thin air, its targets moving far too fast for it to hope to catch. And all the while it was being swarmed and slammed into by six tiny targets, pummeled from every direction with enough force to stagger it with every impact landed. It had been woken up for this!?

As it climbed back to its feet again, it brought forth its whip of fire to swat at these nuisances. Only for the end of the whip to the grabbed by the orange light, an excited yell of "Yeehaw" sounding as the whip was pulled and coiled tightly around its upper body, restraining its arms against its sides, leaving them unable to move. This was accompanied by two forceful impacts against its back and lower leg, sending it toppling once again with an angered roar as it crashed.

"Sayonara, fire butt!" came the next excited yell, followed by a sharp kick to the chin that sent the balrog skidding across the mine's floor, before crashing into -and through- one of the massive pillars that supported Moria's ceilings.

It was very hard for Rainbow Dash to not be excited when they were in Harmony Mode. The sheer amount of power and strength that they freely commanded, was so difficult to believe. It felt electrical, like every single cell in her entire body was saturated with positively charged magical energy. It was like the best sugar rush in the whole wide world, and a feeling of utter invincibility; and here they were finally getting the chance to actually test out the limits of what they could do if need be. Each one of them, even Fluttershy, was beating the balrog senseless by themselves, and when teamed with one or more partners, they were a force to be reckoned with.

She had no idea what it was like to wield magic beyond that of basic weather manipulation, or what it was like to be an Alicorn, but she was pretty sure this was close to it.

But even with all that power she could feel coursing through her veins, and the utter absence of fatigue that had been plaguing her after the fight with the goblins, the balrog failed to be impressed, as it was getting back up yet again.

"Wow! He just won't give up!" she stated, both impressed and annoyed at the same time.

"Rainbow Dash! Stop teasing the demon, we've got a lot of work left to do!" Twilight called to her from where she and the others had gathered together.

"Alright, alright," Rainbow Dash grumbled and flew back to where the others had gathered. She knew it was time to stop playing around, and start getting serious. The balrog wasn't responding to friendly persuasion, so now it was time to business. She took up her spot next to the others, suspended off the floor by the sheer intensity of the Harmony power they were channeling right now, knowing what had to be done.

"All power to the harmony cannon?" Pinkie asked.

"Are we seriously callin' it that?" Applejack asked in response.

"We can discuss this later, just fire the darn thing already!" Twilight barked. The others nodded in response and agreement.

The glow being emitted by each of them intensified to the point they were no longer visible through the haze of six multi-colored balls of light, each of them bright enough to rival the sun itself. A loud thromming-noise quickly filled the air as six beams of bright light erupted forth from each one of them, before coalescing together in a right-handed spiral, before slamming full force into the balrog's chest, bringing forth a mighty roar as it was pummeled, before its burning chest was ripped through by the beam, as it traveling through and through, punching a hole right out of the demon's back, and continuing on unopposed.

The balrog spasmed upon being impaled. And as it did its body slowly began to solidify, radiating outward from the point of impact, and reaching each and every one of its limbs, its fire dying out as its structure took on the appearance of dull granite.

"By Valar," Gandalf breathed in disbelief as the light faded, leaving his eyes to readjust to the relative darkness of Moria, and allowing him to witness what was before them.

The balrog, a demon of the ancient world, an unstoppable terror, had just been vanquished, its body turned to solid stone.
> The Bridge of Khazad-Dum
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Bridge of Khazad-Dum


Just like that, it was all over. The light faded, and with it the overwhelming sensations that seemed to be generated by it, as the ponies floated back to the ground, each one of them turning back to their previous selves, and each one of them looking fatigued like they'd just run a marathon. Not one among them wasn't panting or otherwise slouching where they touched down.

The Middle Earth half of the Fellowship could do little more than stand and stare dumbfounded at what had just been seen, finding it quite difficult to comprehend.

Even Spike, who had actually seen a similar display once before back in Equestria, was left awed by it all.

"Gandalf," Gimli spoke up, "what sort of devilry did we just bear witness to?"

"Harmony Power," Spike spoke up in response. "As Twilight explained it, she and the others were imbued with the magic of the Tree of Harmony itself."

That was hardly an adequate explanation as far as the others were concerned. But before any of them could press Spike for details on just what that meant, the rest of their party was coming in their direction.

"Whoo doggy! Ah feel like Ah've been run through a whole rodeo," Applejack stated.

"Having never been in a rodeo myself, I'll take your word for it, darling," Rarity replied, "right now I'd love nothing more than a relaxing trip to a spa. And perhaps a good night's sleep."

"I don't know whether to be tired or hungry right now," Rainbow Dash added, before setting down on her hooves and addressing the other half of the group. "What'd I tell you? We took care of it, no sweat."

"Yes. So I can see," Gandalf stated and glanced back at the Balrog's petrified form; a testament to what should've been impossible, and yet had happened.

It was at this point that Boromir touched Gandalf's shoulder to get his attention. "Gentlemen, a thought has just come to me. If our otherworldly friends are fully capable of doing this to an ancient demon, then what could they do to Sauron himself?"

To some of the Fellowship members, it was a legitimate question, and brought about thoughts pertaining to the war possibly being won with ease.

But to those that were more aware, those that had seen the list in Boromir's eyes whenever the ring crossed into his line of fight, they saw it for what it really was. Gandalf, Aragorn, and even Twilight could see the depths that were behind the question.

Before any of them could question him further about what he was suggesting, the sound of rock breaking apart echoed off the hall's walls.

"Um... w-what was that?" Fluttershy asked nervously.

Slowly, ever so slowly, all heads turned to face the Balrog's stone form, each of them fearing the worst, yet hoping that it wasn't the case.

It unfortunately was the case, as they could see the stone form starting to crack, with the light of the Balrog's fire beginning to shine through the breaches.

"What!?" Rainbow Dash croaked out in surprise. "But... but how!?"

"We hit him with everything but the kitchen sink! How'd it not work!?" Pinkie yelled.

"Different world, different magic, different rules of physics is the only thing I can think of," Twilight stated, her mind racing with how this had come to pass.

"Can you try again?" Legolas asked as the Balrog clenched its fist, shattering the stone that had encompassed the appendage.

Twilight shook her head in response. "Harmony Power doesn't draw on our magic to make it work, but it leaves us exhausted in the aftermath. I don't think we can use it more than once a day; we've never had to before," she stated.

Gandalf recognized the gravity of the situation, and turned to the direction of the Hall's exit and promptly commanded the Fellowship. "RUN"!

The Fellowship quickly reached the Hall exit; a narrow doorway of normal height that led into an equally narrow downward flight of steps. Boromir was the first to go down them. Gandalf and Twilight were the last to exit the Hall, with Gandalf having to drag a stunned Twilight as she tried to comprehend the more precise reasons on how their Harmony powers had failed to stop the Balrog.

Boromir raced down the stairs until he exited through yet another narrow doorway that led to a landing. The Fellowship had exited into a very large chasm that was traversed by a narrow stairway, a long drop waiting to greet anyone that strayed too far from the center. Boromir moved off the landing and down the stairway that commenced directly ahead of him. However, after running down only a few stairs, he had to suddenly halt as the stairs ended before a bottomless drop. As he struggled to regain his balance, he dropped the torch he'd been carrying down the chasm. Fortunately, Legolas and Applejack each grabbed one of his arms to steady his dangerous teetering, and pull him back before he could fall off the edge. The Fellowship members that had exited the Hall had to turn to their right and take a detour down an alternate flight of stairs that lead to the cavern's main staircase.

Twilight and Aragorn came out on to the landing with Gandalf behind them. Both Man and Alicorn noticed that Gandalf appeared to be struggling somewhat and moved closer to support him.

"Gandalf!" Aragorn said to the wizard with quiet concern. Gandalf put his right hand on Aragorn's shoulder and looked at both him and Twilight.

"Lead them on, the both of you!"

If Twilight did not know better, she thought what Gandalf had just said and the way he spoke sounded like what Princess Celestia would say to her. Before she had the chance to ask him what he had planned, Gandalf spoke again. "The Bridge is near!"

The two followed Gandalf's gaze to see in the distance a narrow bridge spanning a great chasm. That was supposed to be near!?

It was at this moment that the Balrog's roar echoed through the mines, reminding the Fellowship of the fact that it was free, and far more furious than it had been on the first interaction. At the Balrog's roar, Gandalf pushed Aragorn in the direction of the stairs the Fellowship had to travel.

"Do as I say!" he urged Twilight and Aragorn. "Swords, shields, and even your magic are of no more use here! We must retreat!"

Due to his natural athleticism, Legolas was in the lead as the Fellowship went down the staircase that led to the Bridge of Khazad-dum. Unlike Boromir earlier, Legolas had plenty of time to see to his front a gap in the stairway. This gap was 'only' about seven feet across, but its depth was still quite terrible. The Fellowship halted as each member prepared to jump the gap.

Legolas easily leaped across the gap to its other side, with Applejack quickly following him in excellent form. Gandalf was about to jump when he heard the Balrog's roar coming from behind the Fellowship. He looked around to see the Hall exit had a fiery red glow. Each step the enraged Balrog took shook the staircase as well as parts of the cavern roof to crumble down on it.

"Gandalf!" Legolas beckoned the Wizard with a wave of his arm. Gandalf refocused on the task at hand and jumped across the gap. When he landed, he heard an arrow whistle overhead from his left. He turned in that direction to see that a company of goblin archers had perched themselves some sixty yards away on a ledge overlooking the Fellowship. Legolas rapidly drew his bow and shot one of the goblin archers in the forehead. The archer let out a dying gurgle as it fell face down from the ledge and into the chasm depths.

Despite that fact, there were still plenty more to take his place.

Twilight rapidly erected a shield to cover the Fellowship from injury, with goblins arrows shattering against its outside. She really couldn't see any reason to engage them in a battle of arrows, if they could simply trick their opponents into exhausting their supplies, leaving them both helpless and harmless.

However this present the Fellowship with a problem. While they were safe from the oncoming barrage, there simply wasn't enough room on the stairs for Twilight to stand guard where she currently was, and let the others cross. And with the Balrog just short of literally breathing down their necks, time wasn't on their side.

"They're going to leave us pinned down!" Twilight stated.

"We could dispatch them if you would lower your shield," Legolas pointed out, his eyes picking up many easy to hit targets, but none easy to get to at the moment.

"If I lower my shield we'll be turned into pin cushions," Twilight retorted. No matter what, the situation wasn't good. "We need a distraction."

"Well then let's give 'em a distraction! Rainbow Dash!" Spike called.

"Right with ya, little dude," Rainbow Dash stated as the dragon climbed up onto his back, before taking off.

The way Rainbow Dash flew towards the ledge reminded Boromir of a shot launched from a trebuchet, as she flew past them. The next thing he knew the ledge was illuminated by Spike's green flames, and many goblins screaming in surprise as they fell -or were thrown- off the ledge. Some were on fire, while some weren't.

"Well that's one way o' taking care o' business," Applejack commented as she saw Rainbow Dash flying back, letting Spike jump down on their side.

"Alright, alright, let's get moving! Double time!" Rainbow Dash called as she hovered next to the gap.

Unfortunately fate didn't seem to be on their side. A horrible commotion from above alerted the others to falling debris. And while they could all move out of the way to avoid getting crushed, there was no way to prevent the falling stones from breaking apart the stairs, and widening the gap past the point of where leaping across would be a viable option for everyone.

"Oh just wonderful! What now?" Rarity asked, knowing that she'd never be able to make the leap.

"Toss 'em!" Rainbow Dash instructed as she swooped to the halfway point and broke into a hover. "Toss 'em over and I'll catch 'em!" she stated.

With little discussion, as they didn't have the time for it, Boromir grabbed Merry first and lobbed the hobbit through the air as he screamed in surprise, before Rainbow Dash caught him, and turned to toss him to the other side for Legolas to catch.

Pippin was next to get a crash course in flying and relayed along, with much less dignity than his counterpart.

Pinkie didn't even give Rarity a chance to object before flinging her over to Rainbow Dash, a shrill scream accompanying her as she was roughly swung over the gap and into Applejack's waiting forelegs.

Sam's turn came far sooner than he was prepared for. But rather than being lobbed like he was a sack of potatoes, he found himself picked up by Boromir, who chose to leap the gap on his own, landing roughly in the process.

"You're next, Gimli," Aragorn stated as he moved to grab the dwarf, only to have a hand just about shoved in his face.

"Nobody tosses a dwarf!" Gimli stated indignantly before launching himself into a mighty leap with a determined cry. But despite his pride, his leap simply wasn't strong enough to reach the other side and he landed precipitously on the edge of the gap's other side. He would have fallen to his death, had it not been for Applejack quickly wrapping her forelegs around him.

"Don' worry there, pardner, Ah gotcha," she stated as she pulled him to safety.

Twilight turned to face Pinkie, knowing Aragorn wouldn't be able to toss her. But Pinkie was nowhere to be found. Fluttershy's absence was understandable, as she was already flying overhead. But Pinkie was-

"Hurry up you three!"

Turning around, Twilight saw that Pinkie was now on the other side of the gap. When and how that happened, she had no idea. But with the continual roars of the Balrog as it was trying to break through the opening to get to them, she didn't have time to consider the mystery.

That was if they didn't plummet to their deaths first. Before any of them could jump to the next side, the stairs they'd been standing on broke away, forcing them further back, and leaving the gap impossibly wide.

"Steady!" Aragorn warned.

And then the situation got even worse as more of the stone ceiling fell and destroyed the stairway behind them, leaving them stranded with nowhere to go.

"Oh just great! Now what're we supposed to do!?" Spike called from the other side.

"Alright. In the words of another world I've been to, "fuck this!" Hold on you two!" Twilight stated and pressed a wing to Frodo and Aragorn's back.

In one flash the three of them were gone. And in the next flash they were behind the rest of the Fellowship on the other side, with Frodo and Aragorn momentarily disoriented from experiencing teleportation for the first time.

"Move!" Twilight yelled as she took over the lead. They needed to make it to the bridge before the Balrog caught up with them.

"Over the Bridge!" Gandalf exhorted to all the Fellowship members who ran past him. "Fly!"

It was at that moment the Fellowship heard a deep, evil roar that sounded like a raging forest fire given a voice all its own. From the inferno arising from the pit behind them, the Balrog jumped onto the landing with a loud, shakin thud. The seven Equestrians joined Gandalf in looking behind at the Balrog, morbid curiosity driving them rather than intelligent thought; which would dictate running even faster at this point.

"We're all gonna be Balrog chow!" Rainbow Dash stated as they fled.

The Balrog apparently agreed with her assessment of the situation, as it effortlessly leaped over the Fellowship and landed in front of them, cutting off their avenue of escape over the bridge, as it slowly turned to face them; much like a cat toying with a mouse.

"We're all gonna die," Spike squeaked as the Balrog slowly began advancing toward them.

And then a glowing purple band appeared around the Balrog's neck, and it was yanked back with enough force to make it stumble. It tried to right itself, only to be yanked back again, closer to the edge of the chasm. A third powerful yank served enough to send it toppling backwards over the edge with a roar.

Twilight panted and slouched, the glow of her horn cutting out in the process. She'd drastically underestimated just how much weight the Balrog actually had to it when using her magic to send it falling to the bottom of the chasm; shadow and flame didn't have a tangible weight, but it sure had. And it wasn't just weight, the Balrog had unbelievable physical strength.

"That takes care of that. Let's get moving before more archers find us," she stated as she straightened herself back up again.

The others had very little to add to the conversation, still not sure of what they'd just seen, and experiencing far too much of an adrenaline rush to bother with being eloquent at the moment. So rather than doddle, they fell in line to cross the narrow bridge over to the other side.

"So do ya think the fall will be enough ta kill the Balrog where we failed?" Applejack asked as they made their way across.

"No. But the sudden stop at the bottom sure might," Twilight replied, not certain if she should be amused or not at that idea.

"Um... I think we might have a little problem with that..." Fluttershy said hesitantly and gestured behind them.

The others turned to look where she was gesturing, and saw the source of her concern; the Balrog was actually scaling the wall of the chasm, its flaming structure fully visible through the shadows. It must've been close to a mile away from the top, but it was still moving quite fast; they probably had three minutes before it got all the way back to the top again.

"Wow! He's more stubborn than a foal trying to peek at their birthday presents early!" Pinkie stated.

"However did it manage to do that? I thought for sure we'd seen the last of that brute," Rarity added.

"Never mind that, let's just get outta here! The exit's right over there! Let's just get out of here and leave it!" Rainbow Dash stated, not seeing why they were just standing around and talking about it.

"That would be most unwise, I am afraid," Gandalf stated solemnly. "If we were to leave now, the Balrog would not simply cease its pursuit of us. It would escape the mines of Moria, and be unleashed on Middle Earth, free to spread terror and destruction wherever it wished. The situation we face would only be made worse as a result, as Sauron would have yet another ally."

"Oh, wonderful. Just wonderful," Merry stated.

"We cannot win in combat, and we cannot leave the mines. What do we do now?" Pippin asked.

"Get the hay outta here," Rainbow Dash spoke up as she turned to face the others. "You go on and get out of here. I'll stay behind and lure the Balrog back through the mines until I can shake it, then I'll double back and meet up with you guys on the outside. I can fly, and I'm a lot faster than it."

"A noble intention. But a Balrog is not easily fooled," Gandalf stated. If Rainbow Dash attempted to execute her plan, it would know that something was up, and ignore the bait being dangled in front of it. "This foe requires a different strategy to defeat. Now quickly, across the bridge while it's still there. Move!"

The others quickly learned that it was a difficult feat to argue with Gandalf when he spoke in such a commanding tone, as they quickly crossed the stone bridge over to the other side, occupying different positions on the ramp that would lead them up and out. All of them except for Gandalf, who remained out on the bridge and waited.

And all the while, the Balrog was getting closer to the ledge, and able to pursue them all over again.

"Hey wait a second," Pinkie spoke up, "what'd he mean when he said while the bridge was still there?"

"I don't know," Twilight replied and shook her head, thoughts concerning Gandalf's inner strength interrupted. "But he just gave me an idea. When I pulled the Balrog off the ledge, it obviously wasn't at a steep enough angle to do us much good. But this time around, when it gets to the middle of the bridge I'm going to collapse it, sending it straight down, far enough away from either wall that it won't be able to grab onto anything and climb back up again," she explained.

"Now there's a right genius idea, Twi'," Applejack commented.

"Well it's certainly an ideal choke point for situations like this. A narrow area with no railings, the only way of crossing without scaling over the walls and ceiling... it just sort of presented itself really," Twilight pointed out.

All too soon, the Balrog finished its climb back to the top and moved to cross the bridge to get to them. But then it just stopped in its tracks, looking at the bridge, then at its foot, and then back at its quarry.

"What's it doing?" Frodo asked.

They received their answer shortly after, as they watched the Balrog demonstrate an ability they never would've guessed it had; the ability to change its form. In a flash of fire, it had reduced itself to half its original size, enabling it to more easily cross the bridge without risking falling over on such a narrow area. And in addition to the reduction of size came two large bat-like wings on its back.

"That... that didn't just happen," Spike stated in disbelief as the Balrog began advancing toward them.

Twilight was beside herself over this development. So much for that idea. "Oh you motherf-"



Gandalf was aware of what was going on behind him, but he paid it no mind. His focus was on the Balrog itself, and its dark trickery. It would be of no use here.

"You cannot pass!" he emphatically stated to the Balrog, which responded by standing to its full height, and igniting its whole body into an inferno. The Balrog then drew with its right hand a long flaming sword from under its newly formed wings.

"Gandalf!" Frodo yelled in horror at the sight before him and the rest of the Fellowship.

Gandalf held Glamdring in his right hand, and his staff in his left as he blocked the Balrog's path across the Bridge. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor."

To Twilight, the way that Gandalf spoke to the Balrog sounded like he was chanting a spell. This assumption appeared to be correct when Gandalf's staff emitted a bubble of blue-white light that surrounded the wizard.

Gandalf continued to speak his defiance to the Balrog in front of him. "The dark fire shall not avail you, flame of Udun!"

The Balrog responded by a powerful swing of its sword down towards him. However the sword appeared to disintegrate when Gandalf blocked it with Glamdring within the bubble of light, which quickly dissipated from the clash of swords.

The Equestrians were completely dumbfounded by the unfolding duel between Gandalf and the Balrog. Even the Changling invasion appeared somewhat mundane to the sight before them. Twilight couldn't help but think the battle between the wizard and the demon was the equal of Princess Celestia's battles ever recorded.

Apparently enraged by the loss of its sword, the Balrog stepped forward onto the Bridge wielding a long fiery whip above it's head. Gandalf remained steadfast nonetheless, "Go back to the shadow!"

Gandalf raised his staff and Glamdring before declaring to the demon in a firm, unyielding tone, "YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS!"

After he had said this, Gandalf slammed his staff down hard on the Bridge that resulted in a loud cracking noise being heard throughout the chamber. After giving a derisive snort at the wizard's display of power, the Balrog took another step forward. The rest of the Fellowship looked on in awe as the Bridge under the Balrog's feet crumbled, and the demon plummeted into the abyss, unable to latch onto anything with the now sizable gap between the Bridge and the corridor it was previously connected to.

Gandalf gave an exhausted grunt at the Balrog's seeming demise before turning to join the rest of the Fellowship.

At this moment, the tail end of the Balrog's whip snapped up and wrapped around Gandalf's right ankle, dragging him down. Glamdring and his staff slipped from his grasp into the abyss, while he was left to cling to the ledge and avoid joining them.

The first thought that came to Twilight's mind was how great minds thought alike. But that thought was quashed at the sight of Gandalf hanging from the ledge. The only thing to concern themselves with now was pulling him back up to safety.

And then an arrow came out of nowhere and struck the ground in front of them, deflecting off the hard stone flooring.

"What the?"

Another arrow came, striking Spike in the head, but thankfully deflecting off his hard skull. That didn't change the fact that it was painful enough to earn a few impolite words from him in response.

"More archers!" Aragorn yelled, bringing their attention to the other side of the gap to where a number of goblins had amassed, and were trying their best to do what their fellow archers had failed at.

"They got us pinned down!" Applejack stated as more arrows started raining down, with some landing closer than others. "Ah don' think they're gonna let us get anywhere near Gandalf."

Rarity readied her bow to return fire, but the lack of a clear line of sight, not having eyes like Legolas, and having so few arrows left, she knew that engaging the goblins at this distance wouldn't be a wise decision.

Frodo, at hearing Applejack's statement, immediately leaped into action and moved to rush to the edge where Gandalf was hanging on for dear life. Or at least he would have, had Boromir not immediately restrained him to keep him from going anywhere.

"No! Gandalf!" Frodo yelled as he struggled to get loose.

Pippin was the next to make a foolhardy decision to rush forward, but he was quickly yanked back by Legolas.

"Let me go!" Pippin yelled and kicked Legolas in the shin, causing the Mirkwood prince to yelp in pain and relinquish his grip in order to cradle his now-throbbing shin.

"Pardon me."

Boromir felt himself being roughly relieved of his shield by an unknown party, who was quickly revealed to be Fluttershy. A quick, muttered apology was offered before she flew after Pippin with it in tow, the two of them racing toward's Gandalf's position.

Pippin was as fast as his legs would carry him towards Gandalf's position, desperate to keep the wizard from falling to his doom. He didn't even register that Fluttershy was there with him, intercepting the oncoming arrows that could've struck him down where he stood, while the rest of the Fellowship that was able worked to cover him. All that mattered was getting to Gandalf.

He tripped, hitting the ground hard with a thud, scraping up his palms and knees something fierce, but he was too focused to register the pain. He crawled and scrambled the rest of the way over, practically throwing himself the last little bit of the way to grab hold of the sleeve to Gandalf's robes, wrapping his fingers tightly around the fabric.

"I have you!" he stated triumphantly.

The triumph turned out to be short lived, however, as the ledge on which they were perched began crumbling and breaking, Pippin's weight serving to be more than it could withstand after Gandalf had weakened its structure to send the Balrog falling down the chasm. Before either of them could react, the rock gave way, sending the both of them falling down the chasm.

Rainbow Dash had seen everything transpire. Without even a second thought she took off, flying up high above the ground. Fluttershy had managed to get a hold of Pippin, wrapping one foreleg around him while holding the shield with her other, but Gandalf was nowhere in sight. Even she knew it didn't take a genius to conclude that the sharp stop of the hobbit being grabbed had jostled him enough to send Gandalf falling down the pit. That left her to go after him by herself.

She was vaguely aware of Twilight yelling for her to come back. But she had already descended into a steep dive into the chasm, far past the point where returning could be considered a viable option.

The darkness of the chasm was an all-encompassing sort as she descended, the only real illumination being the flames of the Balrog itself as it plummeted helplessly. But it served to be enough to let her eyes pick out Gandalf in all of it.

Through one way or another she couldn't understand, she saw that Gandalf had managed to retrieve his sword, and was actually using it to engage the Balrog in battle as they both dropped. There was no way she could deny that the old wizard was hardcore. Even among those that were hardcore, he was hardcore; to think he was actually battling it out with the demon as they both plummeted to the bottom, that was determination and dedication on a whole new level she'd never seen before.

Unfortunately there was still a considerable gap that had to be covered to actually get to him. Their midair fight wasn't slowing their fall, so she was stuck playing catch up; something made all the more difficult by how fatigued she currently was. Fighting the goblins had been bad enough, but add their using Harmony Power on top of it -and all for no reason it turned out- and she was left having to flap her wings as hard as she could just to close the distance  between them, and actually get in range of catching Gandalf. And she'd have to do it all without getting grabbed by the Balrog, as it seemed intent on continuing the fight to the bitter end, slamming against outcroppings of rock the whole time, and sending debris flying.

Her eyes burnt from all the smoke she had to fly through; apparently an unfortunate side effect of pursuing a flaming demon as it hurtled towards what might've been the center of the earth for all she knew. Her eyes watered and her nose ran, and by now her lungs were hurting from the lack of oxygen they were getting. But despite all of that she couldn't stop, she had to keep going in order to save Gandalf before they landed.

"Gandalf!" she yelled down at him, hoping to get his attention as she got closer.

Her wings ached horribly right now, burning with strain as she forced them to keep flapping, to keep closing the distance between them. What had seemed insurmountable just a little while ago had been drastically shortened, but it still wasn't good enough. She was running on pure fumes right now, devoid of the stamina she'd need to swoop in, grab Gandalf, and fly back out before the Balrog could grab either of them.

"Gandalf!" she yelled again as she strained to reach him. "Jump!"

She was so close. So close. She just needed a few more feet of distance closed to pull off the rescue. Then they could both watch the Balrog go splat against the bottom of the chasm.

And then a flash or purple entered her vision, and then nothing. It was like looking into a camera flash and being blinded by it, leaving her unaware of anything until her vision finally cleared.

When it did, she found herself back where she'd started with the others, with Twilight holding her around her midsection.

"What happened?" she asked. But the next question that came to her mind was even more important, as there was no sign of the answer that she could see. "Where's Gandalf?"

No one had any words to offer up for explanation to the question. An uncomfortable feeling started to form in her chest, and she turned to look at Twilight in hopes of getting an answer; a gesture that caused the Alicorn to flinch in response.

"Egghead, where's Gandalf? Didn't you teleport him out?" she asked, her voice just short of sounding frantic.

"I... I couldn't," Twilight admitted as she looked down at the floor.

"Whadda you mean you couldn't?" Rainbow Dash asked, her tone hostile. But she didn't even wait for Twilight to answer before responding. "Outta my way! I can still reach him!"

"Stop it! Just stop it already!" Twilight snapped, her tone far more commanding than it had been just seconds ago. The change had been so swift and unexpected, it made Rainbow Dash freeze in place. "If you hadn't gone rushing off like you did, I could've saved Gandalf, rather than being forced to choose who to save over the other!"

"You chose wrong!" Rainbow Dash yelled back, finally managing to find her voice again. "I could've gotten out of there on my own! You didn't have to worry about me! You should've saved Gandalf instead!"

"There's no way you could've gotten out of that dive on your own! Not at that velocity!" Twilight roared furiously, her eyes momentarily flashing bright red as she did. "By the time I caught up to you, if I'd hesitated even one second longer and tried to grab you both, you would've slammed into the ground right behind Gandalf, and broken every bone in your body! They were ten feet away from hitting the bottom when I finally managed to reach you! So if I chose wrong it's because you made me choose wrong in the first place!"

Rainbow Dash couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Twilight this furious before, and that fact scared her. This wasn't her friend, this was a demon that had replaced her and taken her form to fool them!

"Gandalf is DEAD right now, because you put yourself in a stupid position by not even thinking before you acted! If you'd just stayed behind I could've saved him!" Twilight shouted in her face, hostility unbound by any sense of proper decorum.

That in turn pushed Rainbow Dash over the edge, driving her to unleash her own fury right back.

"Then you should've just let me die!" she shrieked, her voice cracking under the strain of her words. "If I'm so stupid that you had to save me, then you should've just saved Gandalf instead! That's your fault, not mine!  So tell me something, if I'm so bucking stupid, why'd you even bother with me anyway!?"

"Because you're my friend and I couldn't bear to lose you!" Twilight shouted back, no longer able to stem the flow of tears that the rise in emotions brought with it. "Why? Why do you always have to try to be the hero? Why do you have to put yourself in so much danger!?"

Rainbow Dash didn't know what to say in response to this. She was experiencing deja vu, back to when they went to Isengard to face Saruman, except their positions were reversed; Twilight had come up with the stupid idea, and she'd gone along to keep her from dying or being captured. Now here they were, with Twilight torn up over the idea of possibly losing her. The sight of her friend crying like she was proved to be too much, and she moved to pull her into a hug, just as had been done for her weeks back.

"Ah hate ta break this up, but we've got more archers on the way!" Applejack stated.

"Make for the exit!" Aragorn called, assuming the leadership role of the group.

They'd had enough trouble dealing with the last batch of goblins across the chasm, struggling to hold their ground while waiting for the others to get back safely. It was only through a combination of all their effort that they'd managed to triumph again, and he seriously doubted that they could do the same once more.

Applejack nodded in agreement, before more or less crawling under Twilight for the purpose of picking her up so they could get to moving, figuring it would be far easier than trying to take their distraught friend back down to emotional stability.

All around the Fellowship, everything was collapsing in on itself. They had just lost a companion, and that loss was working its way through their ranks in quick succession. Despair and fury was quickly consuming them all, necessitating their escape all the more. The shouting match between both Twilight and Rainbow Dash would've been bad enough under even ideal circumstances, which they didn't have to begin with.
> Lothlorien
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Lothlorien


After spending three days underground in the mines of Moria, the sun that greeted them as they exited onto the eastern side of the Misty Mountains was unbelievably bright; nearly blinding even at this time of day. Standing on a smooth rocky slope, the Fellowship paused to catch their breaths. Twilight brushed the bangs of her mane from her face, as they had become uncomfortable and sticky due to her perspiration. As her bangs were moved, she felt a cool breeze come across her forehead, prompting a small sigh to escape her lips.

Gandalf's demise was the first time that Twilight had seen a close friend literally fall to their deaths. It wasn't the first time one of her friends had fallen to what would amount to a grisly demise, but it was the first time she was in the position to do something to stop it, but still failed to actually stop it from happening; she was still furious at Rainbow Dash for being responsible for that.

But furious or not, there was nothing she could do about it. All she could do right now was see how other members of the Fellowship were coping with Gandalf's death.

Aragorn glumly began wiping goblin blood off his sword. Sam sat on a rock crying. Frodo had his back turned and appeared to be staring towards the southern horizon. Legolas' gaze was one of disbelief and dismay. Merry lay on his side trying to comfort Pippin, who was next to him flat on his back weeping. Spike hugged a sobbing Fluttershy while tears streamed silently down his own cheeks. Rainbow Dash was silent, staring off into space. Rarity was crying, and wiping her hoof across her face to get rid of her tears. Both Boromir and Applejack had to restrain a frothing Gimli from charging back into Moria - the dwarf wanted to return there and kill more goblins in revenge for Balin and Gandalf's deaths. She heard Applejack saying something about threatening to sit on Gimli if he didn't settle down.

However, Twilight's attention was most grabbed by Pinkie Pie, who had sat down and was staring at the ground with a guilty look on her face. She walked over and sat before her.

"Talk to me Pinkie," she stated simply.

Pinkie raised her head and Twilight noticed a tear streaming down her right cheek. Pinkie Pie swallowed before speaking up.

"This is all my fault. Me and my sneezes. It was my sneeze that made the mirror bring us here, and then it was my sneeze that made everything go wrong back in the mines. If it weren't for me, Gandalf would still be alive and-"

"Stop there Pinkie," Twilight interrupted her in a courteous manner. She drew on what Princess Celestia would most likely say in this kind of situation. "Gandalf was pretty clear that he was the only one that could fight that thing. He knew what he might have to do for the rest of us to get away. Allow Gandalf the dignity of his choice - he obviously thought we were worth it."

Twilight thought the look now on Pinkie's face indicated acceptance of her wisdom, but she didn't know for certain.

Despite the gap Gandalf had created in the Bridge, Aragorn knew the Fellowship should not gamble on the goblins taking too long to repair it. After he had finished wiping his sword he evenly spoke to the Fellowship's Elf. "Legolas. Get them up."

By 'them' Legolas knew that Aragorn was referring to the hobbits and ponies.

Boromir was incensed by Aragorn's apparent insensitivity to the grief many in the Fellowship still felt.

"Give them a moment for pity's sake!" the Gondorian angrily pleaded.

Aragorn waved his sword at the hills surrounding the Fellowship to emphasis the danger its members still faced. "By nightfall these hills will be swarming with orcs!" he responded to Boromir with a raised voice.

Twilight voiced her agreement with Aragorn. "We're all grieving for Gandalf. But he clearly wanted us to escape from this place with haste. There's nothing more that can be done here; not now. We'll grieve when we're safe. Otherwise he died for nothing..."

Aragorn gave Twilight a quick nod of appreciation before calmly continuing. "We must reach the woods of Lothlorien. Come Boromir, Twilight, Legolas get them up."

Twilight approached Rainbow Dash, who appeared to be lost in deep thought.

"Rainbow Dash," she called out to her, but Rainbow Dash just continued staring at the Mines.

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight yelled out. Rainbow Dash snapped out of it, and went with the Fellowship without a word. When Aragorn, Twilight and Legolas had roused the others, the Fellowship, now short of one member, continued on for Lothlorien. But not before Twilight was sure to leave an update burned into the stone, just in case Princess Celestia were to come this way.



The Fellowship eventually left the slopes of the Misty Mountains and reached a meadow by late afternoon. The meadow separated them from the forest known as Lothlorien that was to the east by a few hundred yards. At Aragorn's urging, the Fellowship ran across the meadow.

Aragorn knew that many of the Fellowship were already near exhaustion but it was imperative they reached the safety of Lothlorien before nightfall. Although 'safety' was a relative term in this sense. The Elves that ruled Lothlorien, or otherwise called Galadhrim, were not evil. But they jealously guarded their borders, treating with suspicion to any other of the Free Peoples that entered their realm without their leave. Servants of Sauron they simply killed on sight. Aragorn hoped the Fellowship would encounter a group of Galadhrim sentries that would allow them to stay in the woods at least for tonight.

The Fellowship stopped running as soon as they crossed Lothlorien's borders. Twilight remembered that Legolas called the forest they were now in as the 'Golden Wood'. Looking at the trees around her, she couldn't help but think this was an apt description. The majority of Lothlorien's forest population appeared to be tall trees with silver-grey trunks, and branches on which grew bright gold leaves. These trees reminded her of birch trees and that, given the color of their leaves, it was autumn in Middle-Earth. As she ran her hoof over one of the tree's trunks she was surprised at how smooth it felt.

Legolas, who had noticed Twilight's action, and the tremor that ran through her frame, interrupted her thoughts. "They are called Mallorn-trees Twilight."

Twilight looked at Legolas, who was holding a green colored cloak towards her. "You wear my cloak as I do not currently need it," Legolas said, referring to the cloak that Twilight accepted with gratitude. As Twilight put it on, the Prince of Mirkwood turned his eyes to the forest surrounding the Fellowship. "The leaves of Mallorn-trees remain on them during winter, only falling to the ground in spring when new leaves sprout."

'What sort of photosynthesis do these 'Mallorn' trees have that allows them to do that?' Twilight thought in response.

For Gimli, now was not the time to gaze at trees. As he had lived underground most of his life, to him trees were just that - trees. 'Lothlorien' was a name that made even the stoutest of dwarven warriors' exchange nervous glances. Lothlorien was well known to be an elven realm that dwarves should avoid, given the animosity that existed between their two races. Lothlorien was rumored to be ruled by the most powerful Elven Queen in existence. Remembering what his forebears had said about the magic that she could supposedly wield, Gimli doubted even his trusted battle-axes would give him much protection from her.

"Stay close, young hobbits. The same goes for yourself, Spike," Gimli said as he hurriedly waved those respective Fellowship members to him. When the dragon and hobbits were close by him, he began to quietly recall to them the stories he had heard of Lothlorien. "They say there's a great sorceress that lives in these woods. An Elf-witch of terrible power. All who look upon her fall under her spell and are never seen again."

Spike thought that if Gimli was simply trying to make them nervous, he was doing a pretty good job of it. He thought the reason that Frodo had suddenly halted with his eyes darting around was because of the threat this 'Elf-witch' appeared to present.

"Yeah? Well, we don't exactly have a witch or a sorceress or anything like that, but we've got an Alicorn. That's pretty much the royal flush of the whole magical hierarchy thing," Rainbow Dash commented, unimpressed with Gimli's warning.

Twilight wanted to comment on Rainbow Dash's statement, but suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Beware of the Ring, Twilight Sparkle - it still seeks to unleash Rainbow Dash's dark side."

She hadn't heard the statement with her ears, but rather in her mind. For a moment, she wondered if the Ring had re-commenced its temptation of her but quickly dismissed it. Given the Ring's nature, she doubted it would now warn her away from itself. Besides, the voice she had just heard was distinctly feminine, that was both authoritative and caring.

Assuming it was a lady who projected this voice, she could obviously read minds also, as none of the others in the Fellowship could apparently hear her voice. That she communicated in a way that Twilight did not seem to find threatening also indicated she was very wise. Twilight gasped as an image of one of the most beautiful but probing pair of blue eyes she had ever seen popped in her mind as the lady spoke again.

"She resists valiantly against its dark influence, but it is only a matter of time before it overcomes her. Should the Ring succeed, there shall be no going back for her."

Given his elven hearing, Legolas was not oblivious of Gimli's comments to other members of the Fellowship. Although the initial hostility between him and Gimli had greatly lessened, he could not stand for the Dwarf's defamation of the Lady of Lothlorien. The Lady was revered among all the Eldar in Middle-earth.

"I think I just heard her voice in my head," a slightly nervous Twilight Sparkle advised the Fellowship.

"So did I," Frodo quickly added.

Feeling that his forebears' suspicions had been justified, Gimli proudly proclaimed to the rest of the Fellowship, "Well here's one dwarf she won't ensnare so easily! I have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a fox!"

Gimli suddenly halted as soon as he said these words. He had not halted because he heard the same voice in his head that Frodo and Twilight had. It was because he was taken by surprise by three bows, each with arrows, aimed only inches away from his face.

Each Fellowship member now had at least one arrow pointed at them by one of the company of two dozen Galadhrim sentries that had surrounded them. A number of the Fellowship's warriors cursed themselves for being taken so unaware. Aragorn looked over his shoulder to see Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight were about to do battle with the company in their own fashion.

"Hold!" he shouted at the trio somewhat in panic. Fortunately, all three ponies heard and obeyed the Ranger before they could actually attack. The last thing Aragorn wanted was any provocation from the Fellowship that would justify the sentries releasing their arrows.

Seeing that Aragorn had taken over leadership of the Fellowship since Gandalf's fall, Twilight had no hesitation obeying him. Especially as Aragorn was similar to her in the sense that he had royal blood in his veins. Nonetheless, she still kept her horn aglow. If any of these elves so much as thought of releasing their arrows, she would have no hesitation in responding with force. Ensnaring their arrows to keep them in place would be the first course of action, possibly followed up with sending all of them to this world's moon. Assuming she could get the mechanics of the process right.

And then her mind wondered if the grey cloaks worn by the elves before her allowed them to remain hidden until the moment they wanted to be seen, as they had come out of practically nowhere.

The leader of these sentries, a tall blond male elf, not unlike Legolas, stepped forward and remarked to Aragorn, "The dwarf breathes so loud, we could have shot him in the dark."

Gimli growled at the leader's reference to him. Inwardly, Aragorn breathed a sigh of relief because he immediately recognized the leader as Haldir, the Marchwarden of Lorien. He had met Haldir years before during his travels through Middle-earth. Aragorn gave the high ranking Galadhrim a short, respectful bow before conversing with him in Sindarin.

Twilight's ears twitched at the conversation unfolding before her. She could tell that these two had at least some mutual respect for one another, which helped put her tensions at ease. However she'd feel a lot better once those arrows were no longer aimed at her and her friends.

Gimli did not like how Haldir had spoken to him, and liked the Galadhrim arrows being pointed at him even less. As a dwarf he did not want to be at the enigmatic mercies of powerful and well-armed elves. At least he knew where he stood with the goblins.

"Aragorn," he blurted out, "These woods are perilous! We should go back!"

"You have entered the realm of the Lady of the Wood," Haldir responded to Gimli in a tone that would brook no argument. "You cannot go back."

"Sure we can! We know the way we came, we can just turn around like none of this ever happened," Pinkie stated.

Twilight noticed that Haldir next looked at Frodo -completely ignoring Pinkie in the process- before saying to the whole Fellowship, "Come. She is waiting."



The Fellowship had to spend the night on a platform that the Galadhrim had built high on a Mallorn-tree. Legolas told the Equestrians that Galadhrim settlements were based around these platforms or 'Telains' on which they built all types of dwellings. Aragorn introduced the members of the original fellowship, while he allowed Twilight to introduce her friends. Aside from an insult from Gimli to Haldir that nearly caused hostilities to resume between the Galadhrim and the Fellowship, along with a few less than polite words from Rainbow Dash, the night on the Telain passed uneventfully.

Haldir and the Galadhrim woke the Fellowship at dawn so they could reach their destination in Lothlorien by sunset. They reached a high ridge by late afternoon where they were met by two other Galadhrim sentries. Looking east from the ridge, the Fellowship could see a misty valley that led to a great rising glade of trees. Applejack thought it might be a trick of the dying daylight reflecting off the mist, but she was sure that rays of light appeared to radiate from the glade.

"Behold Caras Galadhon," Haldir announced to the Fellowship. "The heart of Elvendom in Middle-earth. Realm of the Lord Celeborn and Galadriel, Lady of Light."

Haldir spoke with the two sentries while the rest of the Fellowship members quickly conversed amongst themselves. Since joining the Fellowship, Spike and the others had found that Pippin and Pinkie Pie were always willing to have a friendly chat, and their light heartedness kept the spirits of the Fellowship high. However, since leaving Moria they had become quite sullen and withdrawn. Of course Gandalf's death was the main reason, but Applejack and Fluttershy suspected another was still at play, based on what they had heard spoken earlier on.

Applejack walked over to where Pinkie Pie was. The strongest member of the Fellowship crouched down and spoke to the happiest member.

"Ah heard wha' ya were sayin' ta Twilight earlier, 'bout yer sneezin' bringin' the goblins down on u," she commented, "ah don't think that' right though."

"Why not?" Pinkie asked.

"Because those mines must have one hay of an echo to 'em. That commotion probably sounded fer miles aroun' in every direction. So if the goblins found us as quick as they did, somethin' tells me they knew right where we were the whole time; like they were trackin' us fer those three days. Hay, they might've even been plannin' on ambushin' us later on, we don' know fer sure," Applejack pointed out. It was way too coincidental that a whole army could find them so easily in just a couple of minutes, in such a cavernous and echo-prone location as Moria. "Yeah, maybe yer sneeze did alert 'em. But it also made 'em come outta hidin' ta where we could see 'em an' deal with 'em."

"You... you think so?" Pinkie asked. "But what about the Balrog? Isn't that my fault?"

Applejack shook her head. "Considerin' the ruckus the goblins were raisin' in tryin' ta get us, Ah think the Balrog was gonna get woke up one way er another, no matter what we did. They were rattlin' somethin' fierce in all their armor. An' their yellin' didn't help either," she stated, before adding, "not the brightest o' folks, that's fer sure."

"But-" Pinkie started.

"Butts are fer sittin' on," Applejack interrupted.

Despite herself, Pinkie couldn't help but giggle in response. That was funny. Applejack smiled in response, glad to see even a moment of something like happiness on her friends' face again.

While that was going on, Fluttershy was having a similar conversation with another member of the Fellowship that could stand having access to a supportive wither.

"Hello Pippin," she greeted softly with a smile.

"Oh, hullo Fluttershy," Pippin replied, but he did it without his usual enthusiasm and happiness.

"What's wrong?" she asked, knowing full well that something was, but not wanting to make presumptions that might be wrong. All she knew for certain was that he was very, very upset.

Pippin shook his head at first, but at Fluttershy's encouraging look, at last revealed his heart to her. "I should have stayed in the Shire."

"Why do you say that, Pippin?" she asked, shocked by the revelation.

"I've been nothing but trouble on this trip," he mourned. "First in Bree, and then in Moria."

"What do you think you did to say such a thing?"

"In Bree I drank too much, and told everyone in the inn that Frodo was a Baggins, and when he ran over to me he tripped and became invisible. I stupidly endangered Frodo's life because of it! And I could do nothing for Gandalf when he was in need!" He sniffled and hastily wiped his eyes. "Gandalf was right, calling me a fool of a Took. That is what I am."

"Oh, no, Pippin," the yellow Pegasus said sympathetically. "No, no, you can't think that way!" She gently held him as he wept and waited for him to calm down. After his tears had lessened, she continued. "What happened in Bree was unfortunate, but it did lead us to meeting Aragorn, at least. Who knows how he would've met Frodo otherwise? Things could've turned out worse for us, considering the Nazgul showed up at the inn. As for Gandalf-" Her voice hitched slightly as she thought about the deceased wizard. "As for Gandalf, he wouldn't have you feel guilty about his death. You were the only one who raced out there to get him, with no regard for the goblins shooting at us. No one else can say they even did that much," she pointed out.

The hobbit sniffled, but nodded slowly. "I suppose you have a point, but that does not change the fact that I am only baggage."

"Baggage doesn't risk its life to help others. You and Merry fought the goblins with the rest of us, at least you did something. I... all I did was hide, until I thought that Frodo was dead. You did a lot more than I did. Than I could," Fluttershy pointed out. "If the bridge hadn't collapsed beneath the both of you, I'm sure Gandalf would still be alive and with us right now."

Pippin nodded, but still looked solemn and uncertain, so Fluttershy spent the rest of the afternoon distracting the hobbit with other subjects, and for a while their cares were forgotten.



The Fellowship finally entered Caras Galadhon by early evening. Haldir led them up a wooden staircase that wound around the tallest and largest of Mallorn-trees within the glade. They finally reached the bottom of a large Telain that at the top of a flight of stairs, rested a grand wooden house that was illuminated by silvery lights. Haldir stood to the right of the Fellowship as Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel began descending the stairs. At first the Lord and Lady's features were hard to discern due to the light cast around the pair. But the Equestrians were just as opened mouthed as Pippin and Merry when the pair were finally revealed in their full splendor.

The couple appeared to be of equal height, each being about six feet. Seemingly like all male Galadhrim, Celeborn had long blond hair and wore a robe of silver and grey. He possessed a regal look, and demeanor fitting for his position as the Lord of Lothlorien. But it was Galadriel that truly captured the attention of the ponies and dragon. She wore a long, white dress that reached her ankles and a golden, circlet was on her head. Her long golden tresses that fell all the way to her lower back complemented her flawless white-skinned complexion. Seeing Galadriel's blue eyes confirmed to Twilight that it was indeed her who telepathically spoke to her yesterday. Twilight was simply staggered that Galadriel was over 8,000 years old like Legolas and Aragorn had told the rest of the Fellowship, making her officially the oldest being she had ever had the honor of meeting; even Princess Celestia was but a filly compared to her.

"Fifteen there are here, yet sixteen there were, set out from Rivendell," Celeborn observed to the Fellowship. "Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak to him."

As he spoke, Galadriel turned and looked to Aragorn. She didn't turn, really- just moved her eyes a little. But with that one glance, she seemed to understand. "Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen into shadow." Celeborn looked to her in slight surprise.

"The Balrog in Moria got him," Rainbow Dash stated abruptly.

Applejack nodded at this. "We tried stoppin' it ourselves. Gave it all we had an' even then some. Didn' do any good though. Gandalf had ta rise ta the occasion and do it himself."

"We tried to save him. But between the goblins and the Balrog and everything else, we were too exhausted to actually do anything We were... we were useless!" Rainbow Dash snapped, furious as the memories of their failure came back to her. "It's our fault he's dead. He died needlessly in those mines because we couldn't do anything!"

"Needless were none of the deeds of Gandalf in life." Galadriel said, her tone a stark contrast to Rainbow Dash's. "We do not yet know his full purpose." She then turned her gaze to Gimli who was staring face downward. "Do not let the great emptiness of Khazad-dum fill your heart, Gimli, son of Gloin. For the world has grown full of peril."

Gimli looked up, aghast that the first words the Elf Queen chose to speak to a dwarf were those offering comfort.

"What now becomes of this Fellowship?" Celeborn asked as a result of his consort's revelation. "Without Gandalf, hope is lost."

"Mithrandir's loss is a grievous one Milord," Galadriel confirmed before looking at each of Equestrians. "But we are indeed fortunate that seven strangers from worlds unheard have come to the aid of the Free Peoples."

Twilight locked eyes with Galadriel, and heard her voice in her head yet again.

"Your greatest service to the Free Peoples will not come through any of your magic Princess Twilight."

Twilight was puzzled by what Galadriel had just told her, but she still respectfully acknowledged her advice with a subtle nod.

Galadriel then spoke to the whole Fellowship, "The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail to the ruin of all." Applejack noticed that Galadriel appeared to be exchanging glances with Boromir and Rainbow Dash who stood to the left of her. After a short while, Boromir quietly gasped and turned his gaze away while Rainbow Dash just looked down at her hooves, refusing to look at Galadriel in the eye. Galadriel returned her focus to the whole Fellowship by qualifying her previous remark, "But hope remains while the company is true."

After a pause, the Lady of the Golden Wood gently advised the Fellowship, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest, for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace."



That night, they slept on the ground under the shelter of a tent, and some very large roots. While unpacking, Legolas had tilted his head up, listening. The elves were singing something in their own tongue.

"A lament for Gandalf," he commented. Merry listened for a moment.

"What do they say about him?" He asked quietly. Legolas paused.

"I have not the heart to tell you. For me, the grief is still too near." he said.

"Join the club," Spike grunted, already flopped into his bedroll with his back to the others. Gimli was asleep by now, having unpacked before the others. Aragorn was sharpening his sword, while the hobbits unrolled their blankets.

"I could translate," Twilight spoke up, "but I know that if I did, I'd wind up crying before long."

"I bet they don't mention his fireworks," Sam said. "There should be a verse about them." He paused, and then stood up.

"The finest rockets ever seen,

They burst in stars of blue and green,"

Spike, who was sitting next to Frodo, smiled. "Gold and red, too. Remember the dragon, Frodo? Did I tell you what happened? When it flew down, Gandalf and I fell over, and his mug overturned on his head." He chuckled. "He looked so funny." Frodo cracked what was probably the smallest smile known to any race.

"Or after thunder, silver showers,

Came falling like a rain of flowers,"

At the third line, Gimli had given a particularly loud snore, and Aragorn whacked him. Rarity and Pinkie Pie giggled. Sam sighed and sat down again.

"That doesn't do them justice by a long road," he muttered.

"No. It really doesn't," Rarity agreed and sighed. "No matter the words, or the gestures, nothing ever seems to do justice to someone that's been taken away."

"That's because no justice can be done in situations like this," Twilight stated firmly from where she sat. "Gandalf's death is inexcusable and unforgivable. Sauron's dark wickedness is at fault here; if not for the existence of that accursed ring, he'd still be alive now. We refuse to tolerate this! We're going to destroy that ring, and anyone who dares to oppose us will wish dearly that they hadn't!"

It was difficult to tell if Twilight was talking to herself, or talking to them, but none dared interrupt her speaking to ask for clarification. Beyond the hostile tone in her words, there was also a heavy, oppressive sense in the area that just seemed to magnify in intensiveness as she spoke.

And just as easily as it had come, the oppressive sense had vanished as she visibly relaxed, as if nothing had ever happened.

"I know that she's your friend, but there are times she scares me," Sam commented to Fluttershy who currently stood next to him.

"To be honest... there are times she scares me too," Fluttershy admitted. She knew that Twilight was hurting greatly over the loss of their friend, but she didn't have a clue what to do about it. "She means well though."

"I would hope so. I'd hate to have her as an enemy," Sam replied, shuddering at the prospect of that thought. If what they'd experienced just a moment ago was what they felt of her fury towards Sauron, he dreaded the idea of being the recipient of that fury; he'd likely be turned to dust if that were the case.

Fluttershy wanted to say something to put Sam's mind at ease, but unfortunately couldn't come up with any words of comfort. So instead she did the next best thing, and simply opted to hug him.
> Moments of Reflection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Moments of Reflection


Lying on the grass, resting on a pillow and bedding, Twilight awoke from the peaceful sleep she was having. Given the level of darkness around her, she assumed it was night still. Suddenly a pair of delicate, porcelain colored feet silently walked past her. Curiosity followed close behind, and she lifted herself up to see whose feet they were. She quickly found that they belonged to Galadriel, who had her back to her as she walked between the rest of the sleeping Fellowship.

Grabbing her hoof, Twilight knew she was not dreaming, but wondered how Galadriel had not woken any other Fellowship members from their slumber. A few yards to her right, Galadriel halted, and then looked over her right shoulder at her. The Lady of the Golden Wood did not have to speak any words to convey that her presence was being requested. Getting up, she began to cautiously follow Galadriel, who began leading her away from the Fellowship.

Eventually, Twilight found Galadriel in a small garden that was accessed by a short narrow stone staircase. She couldn't help but wonder how she got there so fast, despite walking in front of her at a gentle pace. "Was the Lady already here and she just projected an image in my mind so I could find my way here?" she wondered to herself as she approached. Or maybe it had to do with time dilation of some advanced sort.

Galadriel was filling a golden pitcher with water from a small fountain, before pouring it into a wide golden bowl that rested on a stone pedestal carved as a twisting tree trunk. Twilight thought it best to have at least a couple of yards distance between her and the Lady. Galadriel placed the pitcher back near the fountain, before eventually looking at Twilight from where she stood directly behind the pedestal.

During her tenure as Princess Celestia's personal student, Twilight had devoted much of her focus on magic more than anything else. More than once her mentor had to impress upon her that there were more things than just magic in the world; things such as art. And while she never took the time to become an expert on artistic matters that didn't pertain to magic, simply looking at Galadriel right now was enough to leave her feeling that the aura she had about her could never be adequately replicated in any medium. And that aura she radiated so freely, reminded her a great deal of Princess Celestia herself.

"I am greatly honored by your comparisons, Princess Twilight."

Twilight stepped a pace backward at the familiar sound of Galadriel's voice in her head. Obviously, Galadriel could pick up even the most casual of thoughts. Now she sort of understood why Boromir and Rainbow Dash were so unsettled by Galadriel's powers of mental communication. She would have to be far more careful in her own thoughts, and try to work harder at safeguarding them; if such were even possible.

"I mean you no harm," she gently assured Twilight in a soft spoken voice. She then quickly glanced at the bowl, before returning her gaze to her. "Will you look into the Mirror?"

Now knowing what it was called, Twilight focused on the Mirror. "I'm sorry, Lady Galadriel, but what is it?"

"The Mirror reveals many things," Galadriel informed her. "Yet what it shows is different for each person. Even the wisest cannot tell what that person may see."

"I guess Galadriel is not much into giving straight answers," Twilight thought. She quickly realized she had forgotten that Galadriel could read her mind like an open book. Fortunately the smile she gave Twilight indicated she was not offended by her observation. Or at the very least, she was a master of hiding such facts.

Twilight walked the couple of yards that separated her from the Mirror and looked into it. At first she saw just her own reflection, before the surface of the water turned black with a series of ripples from its center, leaving her stunned by the silent images the Mirror -or more accurately, a scrying bowl- showed her.

She saw countless armored corpses of men, elves, dwarves and hobbits. They and their broken horses, weapons and banners were scattered across the surface of a blackened battlefield. The sky above it was an evil fiery red in color. As much as she wanted to look away, the Mirror drew Twilight's gaze towards individual corpses. She saw the bodies of members of the Fellowship - Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, even Merry and Pippin. The Mirror then moved her perspective. Facing her was an impossibly vast horde of orcs and trolls, even more fearsome than the one in Moria, that exalted in triumph. In the sky above the horde Twilight saw a number of flying black dragons on which sat the Black Riders. These dragons and their riders flew beneath a huge orange cat's eye wreathed in flame that hanged in the sky like some evil sun.

"Is this the Eye of Sauron that Sam and Boromir referred to?" Twilight thought. It certainly looked like the eye that had flashed over Saruman's face.

While all of this was troubling enough it was what she saw next that really disturbed her. Rainbow Dash stood at the front of the horde, but was mutated nearly beyond recognition. Her wings were crooked and featherless, her teeth were rotted and jagged, her mane and tail appears to be falling off, and her eyes beheld greed, malice and insanity. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash wearing the One Ring on her hoof like it was a bracelet, the inscription burning brightly and left no doubt as to what it was. But worse was that lying at her bloodied hooves were the bodies of her friends and...

And even herself!

She and her friends were no strangers when it came to being in danger, and knowing that the fate of their world rested on them. But in every conflict before, they had never actually seen a visual depiction of their own deaths. Enslavement, perhaps, but not death. It was horrifying, and left her feeling quite sick to her stomach.

The Mirror then rapidly moved to another reddened sky under which stood the charred and burning remains of a village. But the village in question was Ponyville!

Hundreds of burnt and bleeding bodies choked the streets, her castle reduced to a pile of rubble, and Applejack's family orchard was completely devastated; the house and barn were burned down, the livestock were missing, and the trees that were once full of bountiful apples, were now gone, leaving only stumps to indicate that they were all harvested.

She noticed that Cloudsdale had crashed onto the ground. The Mirror dragged her through its ruins and she saw all its Pegasi were dead, including the Wonderbolts whose bodies were scattered all over the ruins. The Mirror panned to the Everfree forest, which appeared to be even more menacing and dangerous than it already was, and there was a burning tree in the distance. Twilight looked in horror as the burning tree was actually the Tree of Harmony!

Before she even had time to reflect on that aspect of the countless horrors she was witnessing, the Mirror took her to the inferno that was Canterlot. Upon every level Canterlot was burning, the streets of this once proud city were littered with the corpses of both nobles and commoners alike, the amount of bodies of the Royal Guards were becoming larger as the Mirror got closer to the palace indicated they were fighting a desperate last stand.

The Mirror finally brought her to the ruins of the palace itself that had been toppled to the ground. In the ruins she saw the bodies of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadence, all three of them wearing broken battle armor. Besides the corpse of Princess Celestia laid the Elements of Harmony, but they looked dull and lifeless, now amounting to nothing more than useless rocks. She saw a silhouette of a monstrous, spiky armored being staring at the dead Princesses. This silhouette looked up and Twilight saw the One Ring wrapped around it's finger. The silhouette appeared to lock gazes with her with the eye holes of its helmet before giving her, what she assumed behind that helmet, an evil and triumphant grin.

The Mirror then went black before Twilight saw her own reflection again.



Twilight stepped back from the Mirror, gasping and perspiring from what she saw. She thought all her nightmares combined could not have generated the fear she now felt. She looked up to Galadriel, who had a neutral gaze fixed on her.

"What in the name of Tartarus was all that!?" she blurted out to her. Given Galadriel could read her mind, she must have known what she had just seen in the Mirror.

"I hoped the Mirror may have revealed the reason why you and your fellow friends have been brought to Middle-Earth," Galadriel calmly answered.

Twilight was perplexed by Galadriel's answer and her demeanor in light of what the Mirror showed her. "I don't mean to correct you, Lady Galadriel," Twilight replied, politely as she could considering how she currently felt, "but the seven of us came here due to a vortex caused by our Magic Mirror having a negative interaction with solar phenomena."

"Great events are not set in motion by mere chance, Twilight Sparkle," Galadriel told her in a manner of a mother teaching her young child about the alphabet. "They are often the result of the will of great powers beyond any of our understanding. These power's actions can be so subtle as to go unnoticed long after they have taken place."

Twilight then heard Galadriel telepathically speak to her. "As a mare of faith you should know this."

To Twilight, questions of predestination were one thing, but Galadriel had not really answered what the Mirror had revealed to her.

"But those images I saw in the Mirror," she said to force the issue. "Middle-earth and Equestria destroyed, the millions of bodies, my friends and members of the Fellowship dead, Rainbow Dash being corrupted by the ring, and even Sauron. What were they?"

"They are images of events that have a very real chance of coming to pass."

Twilight detected an undercurrent of grave concern in Galadriel's reply. "You mean the future?"

Galadriel simply gave her a nod in return. Twilight sensed that the Lady of Lothlorien was not cryptic for the purpose of driving people to exasperation. Galadriel's powers seemed to be balanced by her being restrained somehow, in what she could exactly tell people. She thought she could at least get her to reveal how she could prevent the future she saw in the Mirror from happening.

"Galadriel I know you can read my mind," Twilight stated plainly. "So you know that I believe a pony's future is not set, as long as they're willing to fight for it."

"And it is well you hold to that belief, Twilight Sparkle," Galadriel replied as she well knew what Twilight was trying to get out of her. "In the end, it may be the only thing that saves both our worlds."

"Given what I saw, shouldn't Rainbow Dash see this as well?" she asked.

"Even I cannot foresee how your friend would respond to the images you saw," Galadriel answered before giving Twilight a tiny smile. "Even now, she struggles with all of her might to resist the dark influences of the ring, but it is only a matter of time. If she were to know what may come to pass, she may flee the Fellowship to avoid putting them at risk. Or she may simply succumb if she believes it to be inescapable, and hasten her potential fate."

Twilight really couldn't argue with that. "So it's best to leave her in the dark, then, for her own good?"

Galadriel's smile widened a bit further. "Before he fell, Gandalf tasked both Aragorn and yourself to take over leadership of the Fellowship," she answered. "I think one of Mithrandir's reasons, was because you understand Rainbow Dash better than anyone else in Middle-earth. Yes, even the rest of your friends."

Twilight sensed that Galadriel was about to bring their private audience to an end.

"The Fellowship shall be departing Caras Galadhon very soon," she stated before politely dismissing Twilight. "Many trials are ahead of you Princess Twilight. Go back and rest, so you may have the strength to face them."

"Is Sauron himself among those trials?" Twilight asked in a bid to retain the audience a bit longer. "Please. I need to have some sort of idea; how much of an insurmountable threat is Sauron?"

The gentle expression that Galadriel wore was replaced by one considerably more serious in light of Twilight's question. It was enough of a shift to make the Alicorn feel a bit nervous in the ensuing silence, before a response was finally given.

"I can sense your desires for vengeance over the loss of your friend, Princess Twilight. As well as the intentions that you are playing host to," she spoke in a solemn tone. "Sauron's might has been weakened greatly over the passage of thousands of years, spread out to maintain the existence of his forces in Mordor. But that does not make him any less of a threat. What you encountered in your efforts of freeing Saruman from his clutches, was but a mere portion of what you would face, should you attempt to challenge him head on. Your will is strong. Your magic is strong; perhaps stronger than anything I have witnessed in many centuries. But I cannot see it being enough to see you through what you wish to do."

That wasn't the sort of news that Twilight had wanted to hear. She didn't appreciate being told that she was too weak to do something she had her mind set on doing. A part of her wanted to set out for Mordor right now, and declare war on Sauron and his entire empire. But the calmer part of her knew that doing such would be a very bad idea, and ultimately do nothing for their situation; if anything it might make their situation worse than it already was. Not knowing what might happen, her going to Mordor by herself might be what allowed Sauron to find his way to Equestria.

During their travels together, Gandalf had told them what he could about Sauron; like how his greatest strength was his intellect more than anything else. How he was a master of deception, while simultaneously being able to see through it. There was no telling what his tactical skills amounted to, meaning she'd have to be smarter than Sauron if she wanted to win, and not succumb to whatever sort of traps he might've laid out for them.

"There is nothing more that I can tell you tonight. Go and rest, for tomorrow is a new day," Galadriel stated.

At the end of a meeting with a respected leader, Twilight normally nodded as a sign of respect. In this case though, she thought it best to copy Aragorn and she gave Galadriel a short bow before she turned her back on her.

As she walked back to the Fellowship's Pavilion she pondered what she had observed of Galadriel. Ponies were usually in awe of Twilight Sparkle's mastery of magic. But as far as she was concerned, in many ways her abilities seemed insignificant next to Galadriel's power to read minds, and possibly even control people's thoughts. Her power was all the stronger because it was combined with wisdom gained over millennia.

For a brief moment Twilight wondered what it would be like if she could read minds like Galadriel. "Well, maybe stallions wouldn't be as much of a mystery to me," she wryly thought.

She then halted as soon as she heard Galadriel give a soft, gentle but melodious laugh somewhere behind her.

"Way to go, idiot!" Twilight berated herself. "That was a real smart thing to think of in the presence of a 8,000 year old lady who is a powerful mind reader!"

As she berated herself, she noticed Frodo's approach, and the look on his face; it was the kind of look one had when they had somewhere important to be. So either he was looking for the bathroom, or...

"Did Lady Galadriel call you for an audience?" she asked him as they neared one another.

"How did you know?" Frodo asked, surprised by the question.

"You're not the only one," she replied and shrugged. She considered warning Frodo about the Mirror, but she opted against it. Instead another thought came to her mind, and she had to suppress a wry grin from crossing her lips in amusement over the mischievousness of it all. "When you see her, could you ask her a question for me? With her wisdom, perhaps she'll have the answer where others don't."

"What is it?" Frodo asked curiously.

"Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"



The region of Isengard bordered the southern end of the Misty Mountains. The heart of Isengard was an old fortification of Gondor called the Orthanc. Orthanc consisted of a ringed stone wall that had a gatehouse on its southern part. The ringed wall was about a mile in diameter, being some fifteen feet tall and many feet thick. In the center of the area that the wall surrounded was the Tower of Orthanc. Being five hundred feet high, the Tower soared above the ringed wall. It was constructed out of a type of obsidian rock that was near indestructible. At the pinnacle of the Tower, four rock piers had been honed into individual horns that surrounded a platform. Orthanc was nestled in a valley called Nan Curunir, or Wizard's Vale. The valley had an appropriate name given who was the current ruler of Orthanc.

Over 2,000 years ago, Saruman, the White Wizard was the first of the Istari to arrive in Middle-earth from Valinor. Sent by the Valar, Arda's powerful angelic guardians, the Istari were meant to guide the Free Peoples in their struggle against Sauron during the Third Age. Since his arrival in Middle-earth, Saruman was recognized as the most powerful of the Istari and was the Chief of the Order. Due in large part to his status, Saruman was given custody of Orthanc by the then Steward of Gondor some three hundred years before the present day.

Within Orthanc's ringed wall used to be a great garden containing trees from all parts of Middle-earth. Now this, and much vegetation from Nan Curunir, had been chopped or burned down by orc laborers on Saruman's orders. Within the perimeter of Orthanc, its black surface was dotted with wooden headframes, pulleys and scaffolding. The orc laborers had dug out large underground caverns where forges fueled by fallen trees produced iron weapons and armor day and night at a rapid rate. These forge's smoke rose through the caverns and out through the surface of Orthanc. It was within these caverns that Saruman stood on a platform, looking down on what he considered to be his greatest creation.

Giving him their full attention was all but one of the first two hundred of a new breed of orcs that Saruman had created. Standing between 6'4" and 6'7" they were much taller than the common breed of Mordor orc, as well as being much stronger. Saruman had dubbed this new breed of orc the 'Uruk-hai' and he reflected on the events leading to their creation.

The longer Saruman had resided in Middle-earth, the more he grew to disdain his original purpose of aiding the Free Peoples. Hobbits and Dwarves were too small-minded and pedantic to influence the course of great events. The power of the Elves was rapidly diminishing as more of them began to return to the Undying Lands. That left the Race of Men who were supposedly destined to rule Middle-earth into its Fourth Age. Having observed them for more than two millennia, Saruman scorned the idea that Men had the strength to do this. Generation after generation, Men were driven by petty desires and passions influenced by the fear of death their short lifespan gave them. The Valar had become so isolated from Middle-earth that they failed to see the true nature of the Free Peoples. Saruman believed that for Middle-earth to reach its full potential, it did not need guidance. It needed to be ruled - with him as its master.

It was for this reason that Saruman set himself in opposition to the Free Peoples. He had openly declared himself the lord and master of Orthanc, betraying Gondor's original trust in him. He had entered into, to his mind, an alliance of convenience with Sauron to crush whatever pitiful resistance the Free Peoples could mount. The Uruk-hai had been created to assist his plans. The first two hundred of them were only a small proportion of the thousands that Saruman planned to create from the Uruk pits located within Orthanc's caverns. He was confident that the arms and armor his forges were producing would be, on average, of a much superior quality to the equipment of the Free Peoples and Mordor. But to gain dominion over Middle-earth, Saruman knew he needed more than just a multitude of well-equipped Uruk-hai that could outmatch all other armies combined. He needed the power of the One Ring.

His former friend and fellow Istari, Gandalf the Grey, refused to tell him the location of the Ring. It offended his pride, and twisted sense of rightness that such an insignificant creature as a hobbit should be its current owner! Through his crebain spies he found out Gandalf led a Fellowship of eight representatives of the Free People southwards from Rivendell. Given that the Fellowship contained four hobbits, Saruman had no doubt that one of them had to be the Ring-bearer. Although he knew about the Fellowship, he was still unsure to what purpose Gandalf had for the Ring. Using foul magic, Saruman had been able to drive the Fellowship into Moria where he hoped the goblins or Balrog would kill them all. The latest reports from his crebain indicated that the Fellowship had survived Moria and fled into Lothlorien. It would appear that Gandalf was no longer in their number, but he was surprised to have been told that the Fellowship had seven new members.

His crebain described six unnaturally colorful ponies, and what seemed to be a dragon were with the Fellowship. As his crebain could not penetrate the veil around Caras Galadhon, Saruman had to resort to more drastic measures to get the information he needed. Exerting a great amount of his power to prevent discovery by Sauron, he saw through his palantir,  the battle within the Chamber of Mazarbul.

Two of the ponies, he immediately recognized. Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash. And just as immediately as he recognized them, and saw how they fought against the goblins, his blood ran cold. The pony with enough strength to outmatch an Uruk-Hai in battle, and the pony who sought to challenge Sauron; nearly killing him in the process of doing such. Were it not for his Maiar heritage, he likely would have died from what she'd subjected him to. Even then, it had taken a long time for him to actually recover from the trauma that had been induced.

Beyond such facts, it was a matter of pride. She had dared to stain his impeccable white robes with his own blood during their meeting, making him the Saruman of Many Colours as it were. And then the audacity of the equine to address him as she had on the Caradhras, and say to him the things that she had... just thinking about the horrible, awful things that she had dared to utter to him, infuriated him to no end.

But he dare not look away from what unfolded in front of him; not yet. He needed to see more, and witness the outcome for himself.

The orange pony used a powerful ability with a strength well above even the greatest of Men. The cyan pony used her wings for flight and superb agility on the battlefield. The ponies with horns, and wings for Twilight Sparkle, used magic as easily as a wizard. As for the Pink one... he didn't know how to describe that one. She moved in a way, and with a speed that didn't seem to match her body at all.

Saruman has heard and seen a lot of dragons in his time, so he was not too impressed with the baby dragon that was present. But it was the yellow pony that he was most interested in. Despite being meek and pathetic in appearance, the yellow pony possessed an ability to kill even a troll in one hit, scaring the goblins in the process as it toppled.

Saruman thought his Uruk-hai were an accomplishment worthy of his talents. But these ponies might hold the key to a quantum leap in knowledge. If these ponies are like Men in terms of greed, perhaps if he offered the right reward they would reveal their secrets, and even swear to Isengard's service. If not, he was confident his methods of experimentation would deliver the results he required. With the One Ring, and an army of Uruk-hai possessed with the ponies abilities of strength, flight and magic, even Sauron would pose little threat to his ambitions. Saruman thought that with such power at his disposal, perhaps he could even challenge the Valar for the rule of all Arda.

Saruman brought himself out of his dizzy dreams of conquest. He knew that the Fellowship had to leave Lothlorien soon, as the Lady Galadriel would not want to risk being tempted by the One Ring for too long a period. He spoke his first ever orders to a group of Uruk-hai.

"Hunt them down!" Saruman said referring to the Fellowship. "Do not stop until they are found!" He exhorted the Uruks before him even further. "You do not know pain. You do not know fear. You will taste man-flesh!" The Uruk-hai before him raised their weapons and shields and roared their approval of their master's orders.

Saruman then turned to his right where the one remaining Uruk-hai of the initial two hundred stood with him on the platform. The Uruk was the first created within the caverns of Orthanc. It was also still the strongest, cleverest and most savage Uruk so far created. It had messy shoulder length black hair and on its face was a painted white hand that one of its fellow Uruks had pressed there, Saruman had adopted a White Hand to be the emblem of his Isengard. Saruman had dubbed the Uruk 'Lurtz' and had given him the command of this force of Uruk-hai.

"One of the halflings carries something of great value to me," Saruman privately told Lurtz. "The ponies, I would also like to question." Just to be sure that Lurtz understood, Saruman told him with quiet but menacing authority, "Bring them to me alive and unspoiled, no matter what the cost may be of doing such," he stated. He then added, "The purple one especially. Bring her to me alive if at all possible. If not, then simply bring her corpse." Lurtz gave a restrained snarl to indicate his understanding but also his disappointment that prisoners were to be taken. Saruman placated him by then simply saying, "Kill the others!"

From his balcony on the southern face of the Tower of Orthanc, Saruman watched Lurtz lead the company of Uruk-hai through the Orthanc Gatehouse. The former White Wizard felt confident that all the means he need to bring a new order to Middle-earth would soon be his.



As Galadriel had told Twilight, the time had come for the Fellowship to leave Lothlorien just after a few days of their arrival. They were leaving at dawn on a clear, still day. The Galadhrim had provided the Fellowship with five rowing boats to travel south down the Great River of the Anduin. These boats both represented the quickest means for the Fellowship to continue its journey, as well as putting distance between any enemy forces that could be pursuing them. In the first boat were Aragorn, Frodo and Sam; in the second were Boromir, Pippin and Merry; the third had Legolas, Fluttershy and Gimli; the fourth had Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash; and the final boat was crewed by Twilight, Spike and Applejack.

The Galadhrim had also given a great many supplies to the Fellowship to take with them including the Elvish Way-bread known as 'Lembas'. When Legolas told them that one small bite of Lembas could fill the stomach of a grown man, Pippin had downed four, while Pinkie Pie had already eaten ten whole Lembas in one sitting, while showing no ill effects. Each of the Fellowship was provided with a grey cloak fastened with a green, silver-veined leaf brooch. The Galadhrim told them these cloaks would help the Fellowship to remain unseen from unfriendly eyes.

Just before the Fellowship's departure Celeborn spoke jointly with Aragorn and Twilight. As Gandalf had appointed both Aragorn and Twilight Sparkle to lead the Fellowship in his absence, the Lord of Lothlorien advised them with the latest reports on enemy movements. Beyond Lothlorien, Mordor orcs patrolled the eastern banks of the Anduin. Of equal concern, on the western bank a sizeable company of a new breed of orc, rumored to be the 'Uruk-hai' that Twilight had warned of, had been seen bearing the White Hand of Isengard. When the Fellowship left Lothlorien it faced the risk of being spotted by enemy forces from all directions. Twilight and Aragorn agreed that the Fellowship would need to complete its journey down the Anduin with great speed.

Now in their boats, the Fellowship commenced paddling southwards. Galadriel had given each member of the Fellowship a number of gifts. Some had been simple and practical, such as new saddlebags for their provisions, and horseshoes forged from solid mithril to see them through their journey. Although a few of them had been truly unique. As the Fellowship rowed by the Galadhrim gathered on the banks of Caras Galadhon, the seven Equestrians these facts.

Fluttershy had been the first to be presented with her unique gift; that being a necklace on a silver chain, with a beautiful white stone set in a silver surrounding. Something that was said to help her individually, by serving as a reminder of happier times as their journey progressed.

Spike's gift was... well as best as Twilight could tell, it was a vial of a potent sort of medicine, made from a rare type of flower indigenous to Middle Earth. Something that would supposedly heal even grievous injuries with but one or two drops.

Pinkie's gift had been a sling. Something simple, and overall unimpressive to the untrained eye. But Galadriel's eyes were quite trained, and saw the wisdom of providing the simple device to her, as it would allow her to utilize rocks far more efficiently than she could on her own. Even Pinkie had thought it was ingenious, and accepted it without a second's hesitation.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack had been particularly difficult to provide gifts for. Applejack was too practical for anything like what Fluttershy had been given, and had said that she'd be more than happy with just her shoes and bags, as she appreciated the quality of workmanship that had gone into them.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, hadn't liked the idea of anyone touching her hooves, and had only begrudgingly accepted the shoes; not the least bit thrilled with them being attached, even if the elven farriers had been as gentle as possible with nailing them on. And after that she was sort of soured on anything else from them, although she had at least remained polite about it.

Lastly was Twilight herself. Her gift had been a very rare, very large, very old tome, detailing the creation of Arda, the eras of the First and Second ages, and all the lore of Middle-earth. To say she'd been excited about the gift would be a significant understatement. The only problem was that it was far too large -about the same size as the tome in Balin's tomb- for easy transport, and actually had to be shrunken down to slip comfortably into her saddlebags. When it actually saw the inside of the saddlebags, that is.

Soon the Fellowship rowed past Galadriel. She stood there dressed in a white cloak over her head and about her shoulders. The Lady of Lothlorien upraised her right arm as a gesture of farewell to the Fellowship.

As they left Galadriel, and Caras Galadhon behind them, Gimli quietly commented to Fluttershy and Legolas, "I have taken my worse wound at this parting, having looked my last upon that which is the fairest. Haugh, henceforth I will call nothing fair unless it be her gift to me."

"What was it?" Legolas asked.

"I asked her for one hair from her golden head," Gimli revealed. "She gave me three."

"You obviously don't believe Galadriel is a witch any more Gimli," Fluttershy observed. "But you're certainly under her spell."

"Aye that's true," the Dwarf conceded with a soft smile.

If she had known more of the history of Middle-earth, Fluttershy would have realized she was witnessing a historic act of rapprochement between its elves and dwarves.
> Down the Anduin and Fellowship Broken (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Down the Anduin and Fellowship Broken (Part 1)


It had been the third day since the Fellowship had left Caras Galadhon, and they had well moved beyond the borders of Lothlorien. The Fellowship's destination was the Falls of Rauros that were a few days journey south of Lothlorien by boat. Rauros was a great waterfall of the Anduin, where the river fell from Emyn Muil to the wetland of Nindalf. Once the Fellowship had reached Rauros they would then continue their journey on foot to Mordor. Fortunately, the Anduin did not seem to have a strong current, and the Galadhrim boats felt like they were almost gliding along the Great River.

Twilight observed the terrain the Fellowship passed through on their journey. It was largely heavy forest, occasionally broken by sharp cliff faces. She grimly thought this would be the terrain she would like to use as cover before ambushing a river transport that passed her by. She hoped Aragorn was right that Legolas' elven senses would give the Fellowship enough warning of any hostile forces that may approach them. Already the Fellowship had been made nervous by hearing the cry of crows through their journey. They could have simply been normal crows, but the Fellowship knew that any crows were quite possibly used by Saruman to search for them.

If this wasn't enough to worry about, Twilight couldn't stop thinking about the images she saw in Galadriel's Mirror, and how greatly they had shaken her.

"My friends and I struggled to contain Rainbow Dash's speed to keep her from hurting herself in anything reckless," she thought, remembering the first time Discord had gotten loose. "How could the Free Peoples, my friends and I possibly even fight her if she had the power of the One Ring combined with her speed?"

Twilight had not told any of the Fellowship of what she saw in the Mirror, not wanting to share the news that their quest could be all but doomed. And she definitely didn't want to mention to her friends that Equestria's destruction would likely be the result of their absence from it; especially as she and her friends had been killed by an evil Rainbow Dash now in service of Sauron.

No one else in the Fellowship knew about these images, but somehow the Ring had apparently picked up her thoughts. Twilight heard it yesterday speak to her for the very first time. It told her that only by taking the Ring as her own, and using its power could she prevent the events she saw in the Mirror from taking place. She largely resisted the Ring's temptations as being just another attempt from a villain trying to corrupt her. But to her shame, somehow the Ring made a small part of her consider that maybe it had a point. She was aware of her own limitations better than anyone else.

To her mind, Galadriel allowed her to look into the Mirror as some form of a warning. But Galadriel was cryptic as to whether she was supposed to keep what she saw a secret. She would really like to discuss with someone what she saw in the Mirror, as her introspection was slowly driving her crazy. However, Galadriel allowed her to look in the Mirror in the form of a private viewing.

Whatever she eventually chose to do in this regard, Twilight hoped that Rainbow Dash would forgive her for her choice.



The Fellowship stopped their journey for the day when it was near sunset. They had come to stop on a small island in the middle of a wider section of the Anduin. The island was quite bare except for boulders, stones, and a great quantity of sand. Fortunately, the river was quite deep around it, so there was little to no chance the Fellowship could be ambushed from the western or eastern banks of the Anduin without warning. After they had pulled their boats onto the island's shore, the Fellowship set up camp for the night.

As always Frodo and Sam were close to each other, the latter was making preparations for the evening meal. Aragorn had crafted a pair of crude fishing rods when the Fellowship stopped at a woody bank the previous evening. Right now he, Merry, Pippin and Boromir were trying to catch fish for the Fellowship's dinner. While they waited for dinner Gimli, Legolas and Pinkie Pie passed the time by telling their stories.

What story it was, she wasn't particularly focused on. It sounded familiar though, but right now she was too preoccupied to pay it anymore attention than she was. All she could say for certain was that it involved Maud, but other than that it sounded like hushed mumbled across a crowded room; too out of focus in her current state to know what was going on.

Rainbow Dash had overheard this conversation, and was amused by the play of the trio. She began walking to the four Fellowship members who were currently fishing, wanting to see if like home, tall tales in Middle-earth applied to fishing just as recollections of battles. But she stopped when out of the corner of her left eye, she noticed Twilight standing with her back turned, using her magic to throw stones into the water. She couldn't help but think about how the grey Galadhrim cloak that Twilight was wearing did not really go with her lavender coat. With a shrug, she walked up just to the left of Twilight and looked at her.

"You know, after what happened before we went into Moria, I would've thought throwing rocks into water to be a bad idea," she said as she playfully scolded Twilight.

"Aragorn said these waters are fine," Twilight replied, not even bothering to turn her gaze to Rainbow Dash. "Besides which, the others are fishing. It can't be all that dangerous here."

Rainbow Dash was puzzled by her friend's coldness. Not just now, but ever since the Fellowship had left Lothlorien, Twilight had become quite serious and withdrawn. For that matter, so had Frodo. Maybe both were experiencing delayed grief for Gandalf, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. She didn't really feel it was her place to ask the Ring-bearer what was bothering him, but Twilight was her friend.

"What's wrong Twilight?" she finally asked. "You've been like this since Lothlorien."

Twilight gave her a sideways glance. Rainbow Dash could see in her eyes a look of concern and fear which was very unlike the Twilight she knew so well.

"Come on Twi'," she politely insisted, "you helped me lots of times. I want to do the same for you."

Despite the severity of the matter weighing on her withers, Twilight couldn't help but smile. With everything Rainbow Dash was going through, she was still trying her best to be loyal to her friends. But that just reminded her of what she saw, and made her hurt all over again. She couldn't tell her the truth of what she'd seen, but she had to say something.

"Before we departed, Lady Galadriel summoned me for an audience. She had me look into a scrying bowl that... well it showed the future. Not exactly the future, so much as one possible course; with it always being in motion, it's hard to lock down accurately."

"Yeah? What'd ya see? Are we gonna get home?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"It didn't show that. It showed," she paused to take a steadying breath, "it showed your struggles with the ring's influence."

Rainbow Dash was dead silent in the wake of Twilight's statement, the two waiting to see who made the first move in response. In the end it was Rainbow Dash who did such.

"Yeah?"

Twilight nodded. "You... you were still holding out against it, difficult as it may be."

It was a lie. It was an utter, bald-faced lie if there there was one to utter. But at the same time it was a lie for the greater good. Rainbow Dash needed to maintain hope and high spirits if she was going to continue resisting the dark influence of the ring. If she knew that she would fall, and there was nothing she could do about it, it could only hasten her descent into madness. She had to fight against it, with every fiber of her being, if she was to have any chance of succeeding in her struggles. And if a little lie could achieve that result, then so be it! Lying to her friend might be wrong, but telling her that she was doomed no matter what she did was even worse.

"Really?" Rainbow Dash asked. She then look out a long sigh in response. "You've got no idea how glad I am to hear that," she said as she pulled Twilight into a hug.

Off a little ways, Applejack had heard the exchange between the two friends. And all the while she knew that something about it wasn't right, she could just feel it.

She wisely held back until Rainbow Dash went and decided to help Aragorn and the others fishing, before making her way over to inquire further.

"That wasn' the truth, was it?" she asked Twilight in a hushed tone to the others couldn't be eavesdropping on the conversation.

Twilight shook her head in response. "No. But I couldn't really tell her that the ring might devour her. She'd lose all hope," she explained in an equally hushed tone.

"Makes sense Ah guess," Applejack replied and shrugged, thankful that she wasn't the one who'd been asked and such.

For a while the two just sat, listening and catching occasional bits of conversation between Fluttershy and Pippin. Or Spike with Sam and Frodo. Or some of the jabbing banter between Aragorn and Rainbow Dash. It was almost peaceful to experience.

"So wha' happens if she does succumb?" Applejack asked.

"That's a good question. Unfortunately I don't have a good answer yet. I guess we... just deal with it," Twilight replied. "If I could get a proper scan of the ring, I might be able to adjust my magical output frequency to replicate it, and possibly ween her off of whatever allure it's trying to work on her, by staying in close proximity to her. It's risky, and there would be complications that might have to be addressed later on, but it's a lot less risky than doing nothing at all," she explained.

"Well then," Applejack idly stated, "looks like we got ourselves a plan."



Twilight's observation of the behavior of the Fellowship was to be validated later that evening. Boromir, Rarity and Applejack hid behind a large rock on the island, peering at a large log floating in the Anduin. The silvery strands of moonlight reflecting on the river revealed a pair of small clammy hands gripping the log. They also saw the top of a head barely visible above the log's edge, where a pair of large round eyes blinked at them.

"That is, without a doubt, the ugliest bullfrog Ah ever did see in mah life," Applejack stated.

"What exactly is that miserable creature?" Rarity quietly asked Boromir.

"It's Gollum." Boromir, Applejack and Rarity turned to see that Aragorn had joined them. "He's tracked us since Moria."

"Gollum?" Applejack repeated. "The same one that Gandalf said the Ring drove ta madness?" Seeing both men nodding to confirm her question, Applejack then asked Boromir and Aragorn further. "That miserable varmint still came all this way for the Ring, even after what it did to 'im?"

"Indeed he does!" Aragorn answered with intense seriousness. "I had hoped we would lose him on the river - but he's too clever a waterman."

"And if he alerts the enemy to our whereabouts, it will make the crossing even more dangerous," Boromir added.

"Ah don' see how he followed us since Gandalf collapsed the bridge. He looks too stringy ta make a jump like that," Applejack stated. She also wondered if he'd gotten this far because Twilight had blown up the Watcher.

"Perhaps our little group should consider alternate routes to ensure that possibility doesn't occur," Rarity suggested.

"Yes, Rarity," Boromir agreed. "And the Fellowship is fortunate that such a route is close at hand." Boromir turned to Aragorn and said to him, "Minas Tirith is the safer road. You know it."

Denethor would no doubt still argue for the Ring to be given to Gondor. But Boromir was confident he could change his father's mind and persuade him to give what aid the Fellowship needed to complete its quest. Boromir tried to persuade Aragorn of this, "From there we can regroup, and strike out for Mordor from a place of strength."

Aragorn was less than moved by this argument. "There is no strength in Gondor that can avail us," he flatly told Boromir.

By the tone of his response, Rarity and Applejack could tell how appalled Boromir was by what Aragorn had just said.

"You were quick enough to trust the Elves!" the Gondorian exclaimed in a slightly raised voice. "Have you so little faith in your own people? Yes, there is weakness. There is frailty. But there is courage also, and honour to be found in Men."

And by the tone of Boromir's voice, Rarity and Applejack could tell that a scrap was forming between the two men. Blows were probably going to be delivered if things were allowed to proceed without interruption.

"Would the two o' ya just hush already?" Applejack hissed through grit teeth. "Ya two are gettin' louder than a couple o' chickens fightin' fer feed. You're gonna give us away."

"Quite right," Rarity agreed and nodded. "Whatever the source of your disagreement, keep it quiet, or take it elsewhere," she instructed.

Despite the surprise of being told what to do by ponies, the two men were not yet done with their discussion. Although considering what they'd seen leading up until now, they continued in a much quieter tone than before.

"You are afraid!" Boromir declared, as he gripped Aragorn's arms. "All your life you have hidden in the shadows. Scared of who you are, of what you are!"

Aragorn strongly shook his arm from Boromir's grip. "I will not lead the Ring within a hundred leagues of your city!" the Ranger hissed back before storming back to the rest of the Fellowship.

"They're going to get us killed if they keep up like that," Rarity commented in a properly hushed tone as the two men departed.

"Us, er each other, whichever comes first," Applejack stated in agreement and nodded. They needed to keep those two separated for however long it took them to calm down.

"In the meantime, what do we do about our little guest?" Rarity asked in reference to Gollum's presence.

"Well Ah don' know 'bout you, but if Ah get the chance, the first thing Ah'm gonna do is ask 'im how he got across the darn bridge."

Frodo was the only member of the Fellowship who could hear the Ring give what sounded like a satisfied murmur.



A number of the Fellowship had heard Aragorn and Boromir's argument from the previous evening, despite the efforts at preventing such from occurring, but none were brave enough to raise it the following morning. Not even any of the Equestrians did. A tense silence reigned over the Fellowship as it continued to move southwards along the Anduin. This silence was only broken by late afternoon when the Equestrians and a large number of the original Fellowship had their first sight of another of Middle-earth's architectural marvels.

Ahead of them, the Anduin snaked through a narrow gorge formed by the sides of two sheer cliff faces. On each side of the gorge entrance were two majestic white statues, each of them easily three hundred feet tall. They both looked like a king, each wearing a robe and a crown placed on their head. The king on the right had a beard and his right arm rested on a long sword. The king on the left was clean-shaven and his right arm rested on a battleaxe. Both kings had their left arms thrust aloft with their palms facing outwards.

"The Argonath!" Aragorn told the rest of the Fellowship in reverential awe the name of the structure they were looking at. "Long have I desired to look upon the kings of old. My kin."

"Twilight, what are those statues?" Applejack asked.

Twilight didn't answer at first, opting to take out her recently acquired tome to give as accurate an answer as possible. "According to this... those statues are apparently of the Argonath. Also know as The Gates of Argonath, or The Pillars of Kings. They're carved in the likenesses of Isildur and Anarion, and were used to mark the northern border of Gondor. Although that was a long time ago, as we saw from the map their lands have diminished."

Rarity was left awestruck at the sheer magnitude of the two statues. She couldn't remember seeing something so immense before her. And considering how few magic users were apparently in Middle Earth, she was left to wonder just how the construction was possible, let alone feasible. They must have taken years to construct, to say nothing of transporting.

She would most assuredly have to inquire about how they had been made.

The Fellowship sailed past the statues towards a great, roaring waterfall. On either side of the falls, the land rose in two hilltops crowned by distant ruins. In the center of the rushing water, a pinnacle of rock rises sheer from the cascade. As they disembarked on a gravel beach, Boromir looked troubled and appeared to be fighting a conflict within him, and Frodo glances at him, looking perturbed.

The Fellowship had set up camp on among some old stone ruins that dotted the western shore of the lake. Gimli, Fluttershy and Pippin tended to a small campfire the Fellowship had started. Twilight was speaking to Legolas, and Rarity was sitting around eating an apple as a snack. Spike and Pinkie joined Sam in resting against what remained of two corner walls, trying to have a nap since the opportunity presented itself, and there was no telling when the next one would come. Sam was not performing his customary duty as cook, because the Fellowship had not made camp for the night, so Applejack had to fill in for cooking tonight's dinner, for better or worse. As he unloaded gear from the Galadhrim boats, Aragorn spoke to the Fellowship around him. "We cross the lake at nightfall. Hide the boats and continue on foot. We approach Mordor from the north."

"Oh yes?" Gimli asked sarcastically, which drew Aragorn's attention. Gimli had never been there, but he had heard stories from other dwarves what the terrain of Emyn Muil was like. None of these stories made for happy listening. "It's a simple matter of finding our way through Emyn Muil?" he continued. "An impossible labyrinth of razor sharp rocks! And after that, it gets even better!" Pippin looked at Gimli in alarm. The Dwarf's description of what the Fellowship faced made Pippin stop chewing the bit of lembas bread he was snacking on. Gimli gave his final thoughts on the route that Aragorn had chosen. "Festering, stinking marshlands, far as the eye can see!"

"Good gracious!" Rarity stated, horrified by the thought of having to trek through such a setting. It wasn't just the muck and marsh that terrified her, but the entire description. It sounded like an utter death trap. "Surely you can't be serious!"

"That is our road," Aragorn calmly, but tersely reiterated. "I suggest you take some rest and recover your strength, Master Dwarf."

"Recover my?!" Gimli was slightly outraged by Aragorn's response. As if a dwarf was ever at anything other than full strength!

Twilight and Legolas approached Aragorn. The three spoke in hushed tones. "Legolas wants to say something to the both of us."

Seeing he had the full attention of both leaders of the Fellowship, Legolas spoke up, his message simple yet urgent in tone. "We should leave now."

"No," Aragorn replied, looking eastward across the lake. "Orcs patrol the eastern shore. We must wait for cover of darkness."

"Celeborn told Aragorn and myself about the dangers of the eastern shores," Twilight revealed. "Legolas, we know it's a risk, but night will be the best time to conceal ourselves from them."

"It's not the eastern shore that worries me," Legolas explained. "A shadow and a threat had been growing in my mind." After a pause, the Mirkwood Prince added, "Something draws near... I can feel it!"

Twilight knew that a lot of 'gut feelings' were badly mistaken not just in battle, but in all aspects of life. However, she had come to know how superior Legolas' elven senses were. Legolas was the best thing the Fellowship had in terms of an early warning alarm. "Can you sense anything of what it could be?" Twilight asked him.

While Aragorn, Legolas and Twilight were talking, Merry and Rainbow Dash had returned to the campsite after collecting firewood. The amount of firewood the Fellowship needed could have easily been collected just by Merry. But Rainbow Dash volunteered to go and help out, while quietly assigning herself to be the Hobbit's bodyguard. As the pair put down their bundles, they could hear Gimli murmuring to Pippin to, "Take no heed of that young hobbit." She quietly concluded that another member of the Fellowship had said something that had slighted Gimli. She wondered if he and Legolas had resumed their battle of insults, having forgotten Applejack's demonstration against the tree the last time they'd gotten out of hoof. Seeing Legolas was in deep conversation with Twilight and Aragorn, this seemed unlikely though. Merry's thoughts were focused on other Fellowship members too.

"Where's Frodo?" he asked the group.

Merry's question stirred Spike, Pinkie Pie and Sam from their naps. It also served to make Rarity stop chewing on a piece of apple, Applejack to stop cooking and Fluttershy to stop heating up the fire. It also caused the discussion between Aragorn, Legolas and Twilight to immediately cease. Twilight also saw that Frodo wasn't the only member of the Fellowship missing.

"Boromir's gone too," Twilight commented with a slight panic in her voice, and a sinking sensation in her stomach. She and the remaining Fellowship members saw that Boromir had left his pack and shield leaning against a tree.

"Did either of them say where they were going?" Rainbow Dash asked, to which in response the Fellowship members shook their heads.

Aragorn and Twilight gave each other a quick look before the former spoke. "We need to split up and find them. Who knows what danger they could be facing unawares?"

Aragorn didn't want to speak his fear that the greatest danger Boromir and Frodo could face alone could be from each other.



To Applejacks' surprise, Aragorn asked her to be his and Twilight's third search partner. Aragorn had told her that he and Boromir had still not reconciled from their argument the previous evening about the proper course of action. And he couldn't help but think that if he found Boromir, the Captain of the White Tower would be more likely to tell him what happened if he were accompanied by the Element of Honesty. Whether or not it worked out would have to be seen.

Not long after the Fellowship had embarked on their search, Aragorn, Twilight, and Applejack came to an area where the head of a giant statue lay on its side. Aragorn spotted Frodo's tracks, as well as a single pair of man sized ones, made by footwear from the opposite direction of Frodo's. He couldn't be certain what made them, but given the footwear imprint there was a good chance they were Boromir's. Whatever made them, it had struggled with Frodo before the Hobbit had got away by heading southwards up the hill. The other tracks went to the southwest. Aragorn told Twilight and Applejack the name of the hill was 'Amon Hen'. As Applejack was herself a competent tracker -a useful skill for a farmer needing to track down any crop stealing vermin and find missing livestock- Aragorn suggested they split up with he and Twilight following Frodo's tracks, and Applejack following what was likely to be Boromir's.

Unfortunately for Applejack, the trail seemed to go cold as she entered a sizable grove within the forest around Amon Hen. She understood why Aragorn seemed to be more concerned about Frodo than Boromir. Frodo was the Ring-bearer after all, and despite the Fellowship's battles in Moria, the Hobbit could still be reasonably called a 'non-combatant'. Boromir on the other hoof, was one of the Free People's greatest warriors. But that still did not diminish the current concern that she had for her fellow member.

Due to her worry about Boromir, Applejack at first didn't notice she had company in the grove. She only knew when she felt the hairs standing on the back of her neck. She may not have had the senses of Legolas, but to her that was still a pretty good indication that danger was nearby. After taking up a battle stance, she spun around to see thirty yards away a group of a dozen orcs that had been trying to take her by surprise. These orcs had skins of ugly brown, black and grey. But unlike regular orcs, every one of these was at least two inches taller than Aragorn was. They were all armed with steel falchions and wore sturdy looking plate armor. Some of these orcs wore visored helmets and carried long sided pentagonal shields. On each of the bottom corners of these shields was a long metal spike whose tip was seven inches longer than the shield's bottom edge. Applejack thought these spikes made the shields look like they had a pair of fangs like the ones these orcs were now baring at her.

'So these are the Uruk-hai that Twilight and Rainbow Dash talked about.' Applejack observed to herself as she pulled her hat over her eyes.

A bald, grey skinned Uruk sneered at Applejack, "A hat will not protect you Pony from the might of the Uruk-hai!"

Applejack chuckled darkly in response. "Pardner, it ain't me that needs protectin' 'round here," she shot back. If Rainbow Dash could take them on, then surely she could too. Especially after her experience in Moria with the goblins, and Twilight's evaluation of the Uruk-Hai being overbuilt to the point that it hindered them. "Ya'd best be moseyin' along before ya get yerselves hurt."

It had been a friendly warning on her part, basic courtesy and all. But it had done its part in angering the Uruk-Hai, and provoking them to attack first. So much for basic courtesy.

The first Uruk-Hai of the pack to reach her learned first hand that charging blindly was a bad idea. The bucking kick that Applejack released on it was enough to send it practically flying back before crashing against the ground. Even its heavy iron armor had done nothing to protect it from coming up against a greater force, and was easily crushed and broken at the point of impact.

Crushed, and driven straight into his broken and now bleeding chest.

Witnessing this, the others faltered in their charge. Momentarily at least.

"Get in there already!" Lurtz yelled, motivating them back into action. "Don't let one measly pony intimidate you or I'll have your scalps!"

At hearing this, Applejack couldn't help but scoff. "Not only did somepony beat ya with an ugly stick, but yer meaner than a rattlesnake with a belly ache."

The remaining Uruks roared in response and charged at Applejack with their falchions raised, intent on keeping their heads intact, more afraid of their leader than their opponent. The Fellowship's first battle with a force of Uruk-hai had begun.



Rarity, Spike, and Sam were searching together. They had come into a dense section of woods. Rarity couldn't help but wonder why Frodo would have left the safety of the Fellowship and gone off on his own. He must've been quite distressed to do such.

Somewhat similar to its effect on that creature Gollum, maybe the Ring has started to make Frodo lose his better judgement.

"Mr Frodo!" Sam called out in hope of finding their companion.

Rarity understood Sam's urgency to find his best friend. However, it was imperative the Fellowship search for its two missing members as quietly as possible. She didn't know what resided in the forest around them, and she'd rather not find out. But before she could actually tell this to Sam, their mutual attention was drawn by the sound of clashing steel to the south. All three of them shared a worried look, fearing for the worst. After all they'd been through, the sound of battle was universal as far as Rarity was concerned.

"You two keep looking for Frodo," she told the others. "If one of our friends is in trouble, they may need assitance."

"Good luck Miss Rarity," Sam replied, doubting that he could actually convince her otherwise.

"Just... just be careful, alright?" Spike replied, not liking the idea of Rarity going off on her own to face an unknown threat on her own.

Rarity gave Spike a supportive hug before they went their separate ways.



As Frodo ran as far away from Boromir as possible, he ran up a set of stairs to the top of a broken-down structure and sat down, gasping for breath. When he managed to regain some of his senses, he peered through the many broken stones to the outside world. It was dim, and he could see little for he still wore the Ring to hide himself. But suddenly his vision was turned to the west and he saw orcs, only they were larger and fiercer than any orcs he had ever before seen. They ran under the sun, which normal orcs couldn't do without great agony, and they bore a strange symbol; a white hand.

The leaders of the large group were talking with one another, and he could hear every word of their conversation.

"Why don't we kill them all?" one asked with a snarl.

"The Master says that one of the halflings carried something of great value. Probably an Elvish weapon for the war. We are to bring them alive and unspoiled," said the other.

"It would be easier to search them dead," the first one muttered. "But we must obey the White Hand," he added in a half-mocking tone of voice. "That still does not explain why the ponies have to be alive for the Master. What does he want with them?"

"I do not know the mind of the White Hand, and you'd be better off if you didn't question him," the other said warningly.

"I can think of a good few uses for ponies, many of them involving a cooking pot," added a third orc. The second one glared at him but the first one laughed.

"After the Master is done with them we could have the rest of the pieces." The second one's glare lightened as he imagined the possibilities and the third one laughed gleefully. After this, they started to run again. Frodo could see by their surroundings that they were in a wooded area that looked very much like the woods surrounding Amon Hen, and that fact gave him little comfort.

Frodo's vision was then turned to the east. He saw the ruins of Osgiliath, the once-proud capital of Gondor, now turned into a never-sleeping war zone. He then saw Minas Morgul, and he felt a sudden chill in his left shoulder where he was stabbed so many weeks ago. The Mountains of Shadow he passed, and then Frodo saw Mount Doom coughing up fire in liquid form. His vision flew by the mountain and then suddenly standing before him was the great tower of Barad-dur. The hobbit's vision went higher and higher until he was face-to-face with the Eye of Sauron. He gasped and took a couple steps backwards. He was looking for him; He was going to find him. Frodo backed farther away until he suddenly felt nothing under his foot. He pulled off the Ring as he fell.

Frodo hit the dirt hard, and he choked as his lungs begged for air. Once he was able to catch his breath, the hobbit sat up and saw that he had fallen off the structure. He breathed heavily as he remembered what he saw, but was startled out of his thoughts when he heard something behind him. Frodo turned around and saw Rainbow Dash landing behind him. He stood up quickly and could not help but immediately mistrust her. After what he had seen the Ring do to Boromir, he knew he could trust no one - not even his companions in the Fellowship.

"There you are, Frodo!" Rainbow Dash said, annoyance lacing her words. "It's been past an hour, and Aragorn says we need to get a move on, okay?" She suddenly noticed that Frodo was backing away and her countenance immediately changed. "What's wrong, buddy?"

Frodo opened his hand, and suddenly Rainbow Dash saw a glint of gold in his palm. The Ring. Rainbow Dash started eagerly walking towards him, but abruptly stopped as her sense of loyalty clashed with her growing greed. Despite her resistance to its influence, the Ring was calling to her more strongly than ever before, and deep in her heart she knew that if Frodo did not take that piece of jewelry away from her sight soon, she would most certainly try to take it.

"G-get it away from me!" she suddenly shouted. She turned to Frodo, her conflicting emotions clear on her features. "Get away from me, now! Please!"

Frodo did not need to be told twice. He quickly took off, leaving the Pegasus fighting for self-control.

The hobbit kept looking behind him to see if Rainbow Dash was following him or not, when he suddenly crashed into both Aragorn and Twilight. "Frodo!" both of them cried and helped him back to his feet.

"Where have you been? It has been long past an hour, and we were becoming worried," Aragorn asked as he looked into Frodo's eyes and perceived immediately the suspicion, determination, and drop of fear. Aragorn was deeply disturbed to see that the fear was directed towards him and Twilight. "Frodo? What happened?"

"It has taken Boromir, and it nearly has Rainbow Dash; she is barely managing to resist it even now," Frodo said as he backed away.

Twilight was afraid of that being the case. She had known all along that her lie to spare Rainbow Dash the truth wouldn't spare her from the effects of the ring, but she didn't know that it would get so bad, quite so fast.

"Frodo, we swore to protect you," Aragorn said softly, saddened by the alarm within the hobbit's eyes.

"Can you protect me from yourselves?" he asked. Frodo slightly hesitated, and then he held out the Ring to Aragorn and Twilight. "Would you destroy it?" Now that Gandalf was gone, Aragorn and Twilight were the ones he trusted the most to keep him safe; if they too fell to the Ring, then he knew that the Quest was doomed to fail.

"I already tried to destroy it, Frodo, twice already," Twilight stated, reminding him of their earlier efforts when the Nazgul had confronted them. The only reason a third attempt hadn't been made, with her throwing absolutely everything she had at it, was because they didn't have the time necessary for her to get ready for it. She wouldn't lie and say that it's dark magic wasn't swaying her. But she had experience with dark magic before. "It holds nothing for me."

Aragorn stared at the Ring unblinkingly. He heard It calling his name... he could defeat the Enemy with the Ring, It told him. He could be the King of Gondor and Arnor in no time... and he would have Arwen. He could not help but stare at the precious piece with longing, but deep inside his heart he knew that Ring would only bring destruction to Middle-earth.

The man knelt beside the hobbit and closed Frodo's hand, resisting the Ring's power with all of his will. He saw Frodo's face and he understood; Frodo could not risk anyone else falling to the Ring's temptation. He was going to Mordor alone.

"We would have gone with you to the end... into the very fires of Mordor," he whispered.

"I know," said Frodo. "Look after the others, especially Sam and Spike. They will not understand."

Aragorn and Twilight nodded with a knowing look, but then frowned. Had they heard the clash of swords in the distance? Aragorn stood up, drawing his sword as he did, while Twilight charged up her horn for a spell. Frodo unsheathed his sword, and saw that it glowed a bright blue.

"Orcs!" Frodo stated.

"Why did it have to be orcs?" Twilight asked.

"Run, Frodo! Run!" Aragorn cried as he and Twilight ran up to the summit of Amon Hen, where the ringing of swords could now distinctly be heard.

Frodo nodded and ran downhill, away from the orcs, and headed east to the river. All that he could do now, was hope that his friends would be able to persevere.
> Down the Anduin and Fellowship Broken (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Down the Anduin and Fellowship Broken (Part 2)


Twilight and Aragorn charged up the summit, driven by the sounds of battle raging on as they sought to intervene and save their friends from whatever trouble had come their way.

Unfortunately that trouble turned out to be a mess of orcs. Even more unfortunately was the fact that it wasn't regular orcs charging them...

"Uruk-Hai!" Twilight yelled at recognizing the forces they were up against. This was so not going to end well.

Aragorn was caught off guard by Twilight's surprised yell. These monsters were the Uruk-Hai she'd briefed them on back in Rivendell? Seeing them up close and personal was so much different from simply being informed and shown pictures.

They had been prepared for the frontal assault that was coming. But not the sneak attack from one of the orcs ambushing them from the side, hidden by the underbrush. Twilight didn't even have time to react before she was tackled, the two of them going over the edge of the summit, leaving Aragorn behind to fend for himself.

The impact of the fall was cushioned -somewhat- from the Uruk-Hai being the first to hit the ground, but it was still jarring to Twilight to experience on her end. Made all the worse was that the fall didn't seem to take any fight out of the orc, as they were both now struggling for dominance against each other, with her quickly being pinned underneath.

She yelped at catching the crude hilt of an equally crude sword against the side of her skull, possibly in some foolish attempt at knocking her unconscious. Unfortunately for her all it did was hurt and make her head bleed! Unfortunately for the Uruki-Hai all it did was make her angrier! A fact that became quite clear as she ensnared him in her magic, and sent him flying at a considerable velocity, having little care for just where he landed, or who/what he landed on once gravity reasserted itself.

"I really didn't need this right now," she grumbled as she got back to her hooves. Now that she was no longer preoccupied, she remembered Aragorn's plight back on the summit.



Gimli, Legolas, and Pinkie, much like the others in their group, had unfortunately happened upon their own fair -or unfair- share of Uruk-Hai. And much like the others in their group, they had been forced to take part in combat; Gimli at close range, Pinkie and Legolas further back, laying down cover fire for their dwarven companion.

Legolas' arrows flew true, hitting their intended marks, and keeping too much heat off of Gimli. Pinkie's sling-accelerated rocks... not quite so much. While she managed to avoid hitting Gimli, her contacts were more hit or miss, and worked more as a distraction than anything significant.

"These are seriously the worst party crashers I've ever seen," Pinkie commented as she slung another rock forward, catching one of the Uruk-Hai right in the mouth gap of its helmet. "I hope the others are alright!"

"We shall be with them as soon as it is possible!" Legolas stated.



Despite easily outnumbering her, the Uruk-Hai that were facing Applejack were faring quite poorly. To say that they were outclassed would be a drastic understatement. Despite their evaluation that apprehending her should've been a cake walk, it was as far from that as could be imagined. Applejack was surprisingly lithely on her hooves, able to duck and dodge and swerve with ease compared to their overly built frames, allowing her to weave in and out as she galloped past them, leading many to fall and crash into one another as they tried to chase after her.

The matter only become more complicated for them when she got the bright idea to roll herself around in the mud from head to tail, coating her entire body in the slick substance, making it even more difficult for them to hold onto her when they actually managed to latch onto her.

Right now the more intelligent orcs in the group were standing back and observing as their brethren were falling victim to their own ineptitude, and inability to capture even a single pony; a fact that resulted in fists being delivered against one another when they would crash into each other, or go slipping into the mud. It would be amusing if it weren't so pitiful. How could they, the pride of Saruman's forces, be so easily outwitted by a single pony with a hat?

"I'm beginning to see what Saruman wants with these ponies," one of them grumbled, before facepalming at the sight of one of his brethren falling face first in the mud as he lunged to grab their quarry. And then it became all the worse when another one of them fell on top of the first one.

"Is this even the right pony?" another one of them asked. "I mean, do any of you know what color purple is?"

That made their part of the group stop and think, and scratch their heads in confusion. They had heard Saruman speak of particular interest about a purple pony. But he'd neglected to show them what the color purple looked like. And they'd neglected to ask questions during the heat of the moment.

One of them simply waved his hand dismissively. "How many colors can there really be to pick from? One's as good as any other," he stated. The others slowly nodded and grunted in agreement.

Finally it looked like one of their dumber comrades was doing something right when he managed to grab the pony's tail and hold on for dear life. But that quickly fell apart as she proceeded to drag him along as she galloped, before veering hard left and send him tumbling into the others, knocking them back down once again.

Saruman hadn't lied to them that badly, had he? They couldn't be this incompetent by design, right?

"Are ya mangy varmints 'bout ready ta give up? Or do Ah have ta start gettin' rough with ya?" Applejack asked them.

"She's mocking us," one of them grumbled to anyone around that would listen to him. "Let's just kill her already. Saruman will never know the difference."

"Saruman knows all!" another of them roared, daring not to go against the master's orders, no matter how badly they were being mocked by one so small. It would be nothing compared to what Saruman would do to them.

"Well then he knows of the troubles we face with this one!" another yelled, utterly disgusted with their lack of results; to the point he chucked his falchion right at the pony.

Despite how nimble Applejack had been through all of this, this move proved to be something she couldn't simply overcome with flexibility. She'd seen the blade coming at her, but she simply couldn't avoid it in time. She'd moved to dodge it, but she simply hadn't been fast enough to escape it completely. It slammed into her back leg, hitting with enough force to guarantee a nasty and painful bruise would be developing, along with leaving a nasty gash in the skin that resulted in fresh blood being spilled, and her crumpling in pain as she yelled, clutching her injured appendage.

"Finally, something goes right!" one of the orcs yelled triumphantly. It was about time something went their way, and bagging this pony was just the start of it. With a sneer he approached to apprehend their quarry for transport back to Saruman... provided she didn't die on the way. If that happened, they'd just have to eat her.

Before he could successfully apprehend their quarry, he was treated to the experience of seeing his hand lopped right off at the wrist, which was immediately followed by the feeling of the act. He roared in pain and surprise as he stumbled back, clutching the stump in utter confusion of just what had happened.

"Consider that a warning, you foul beast!"

Applejack recognized that voice as clear as day. Turning her head she saw Rarity come charging out of the underbrush, her bow at the ready as her curved sword came into view. No words were shared between them as she stepped forward to obstruct them.

"Rarity? What're ya doin' here?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Saving a friend, darling, obviously," Rarity replied before turning her attention back forward. "I should warn you, the very next one of you that attempts to even touch my friend, I swear that I'll kill you," she warned as she drew back on the bowstring to ready an arrow. She then reached out with her magic and picked up the dropped falchion to add to her arsenal to strengthen the front she was presenting for them to see.

Despite the firmness in her voice as she delivered the threat, the Uruk-Hai weren't impressed. Some even laughed in response at the thought that a mere pony could kill them.

"Bold words from a stupid pony!" one of them yelled.

"Why don't you ask your companion over there if you think I'm bluffing?" Rarity suggested as she used one of her swords to gesture to the orc with the missing hand. "But if you think that you have what it takes, then by all means, feel free to try and prove me wrong," she stated, daring them to even try and get between her and her friend. And just to help sell the point that she wasn't to be trifled with, she added a spin to each of her blades for the sake of presentation.

Applejack didn't know where this sudden protective streak had come from in Rarity. But she wasn't about to question it. She was very thankful for the rescue and assistance she was getting. She knew that Rarity could be fierce when it came to looking after her own kin, but she never thought that she'd be on the protecting end.

Of course she wasn't just going to lay down and let somepony else fight her battles, injured or not. She wasn't out of this yet, and she wasn't about to slack off. With that resolve she pushed herself back up onto her hooves to prepare for what came next.

"Don't be countin' me out jus' yet, Sugarcube. Shoot this looks worse than it really is," she stated.

"I couldn't keep you down even if I tried, could I?" Rarity asked without taking her focus off the orcs in front of them.

"Well ya might if ya said please and asked real nice. But not under these circumstances," Applejack retorted with a smirk. "Now let's show these sidewinders how we rumble."



Fluttershy hadn't meant to be eavesdropping at the time, she honestly hadn't. But regardless, she had still managed to hear Legolas asking Twilight if it was wise for her to go with Merry and Pippin in search of Frodo, considering the fact that none of them were warriors.

Unfortunately she hadn't had the option of hearing Twilight's response to the question, before they were too far out of earshot, and paused in the clearing to see if they could find any trace of Frodo or Boromir. Fluttershy compared the clearing to a shallow natural amphitheater as tree-dotted ridges surrounded the clearing to its north, west and south.

"It's not like Frodo to just run off without telling any one," Merry remarked to Fluttershy and Pippin as well as himself.

"He was always very sensible. Even though he is a Baggins," Pippin concurred.

Fluttershy knew nothing of Hobbit bloodlines to judge the veracity of what Pippin had just said. She did know enough about ecology though, that forests usually echoed with the sound of bird songs. But the woods in her and the two hobbits' close vicinity were eerily quiet. Most birds only stopped singing to hide from nearby predat...

Before she had a chance to worry about the implications of her conclusion, from the west the sound of battle echoed down the slopes of Amon Hen. The three friends looked in the direction of the sound.

"Would Aragorn and Twilight want us to help?" Merry asked Fluttershy.

Out of the corner of her eye, Fluttershy could see something moving towards them over the ridge to the north. "Guys, it's too late for that," she squeaked in terror.

Following Fluttershy's gaze, Merry and Pippin saw half a dozen Uruk-hai streaming in their direction. Lurtz had gambled by dividing his force of Uruk-hai to attack the Fellowship from different directions. Given that the Fellowship had split up into small search parties, his gamble looked like it was to be well rewarded.

Fluttershy was panicking at this point, the presence of the orcs serving to remind her of Moria and the goblins, and all they'd been forced to do to get out of there. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about what she'd been forced to do to the cave troll when she thought Frodo had died, and she was flashing back to that, feeling her heart pounding harder, and her blood pumping in her ears. She was sure that Merry and Pippin were saying something, but for the life of her she couldn't make it out. Right now the only thing she could focus on was the orc with a large, two-handed axe coming right for her, and swinging it right for her head.

And it would've been successful too, were its movements not suddenly halted due to the blade of a sword across its handle.

"Boromir!" Pippin cried in relief as Gondor's Captain-General had come to the trio's rescue.

Boromir quickly looped his sword out of the axe, before using it to split the Uruk's unprotected skull open. He then threw a dagger at the exposed neck of another Uruk that killed it instantly.

Fluttershy, in response to the sudden and much welcomed rescue, snapped out of her own thoughts, and quickly came to her senses. Seeing more orcs coming at them, she immediately used her Stare to help Boromir kill the last remaining Uruks by stunning them into place before Boromir uses his sword to cut them down.

"T-Thanks," Fluttershy said to Boromir in her normal, quiet voice.

Boromir did not seem to give even a second thought to Fluttershy's quiet voice or stuttering as he bitterly replied, "I don't deserve anyone's thanks for anything ever again!"

Before Fluttershy could ask Boromir what he meant, at least some twenty more Uruk-hai came over the northern ridge and into view.

"Fall back!" Merry, Pippin and Fluttershy immediately obeyed Boromir's command to them, wanting to get as far away from there as possible.



At the summit of Amon Hen, Aragorn fought a desperate solo battle against a multitude of Uruk-hai. He was standing atop a small ruined monument that was some twelve feet high called the 'Seat of Seeing' to give himself the high ground. He sought to draw the Uruks attention so as to allow Frodo to get away unhindered, which had worked so far. He was too busy fighting for his own life now, to decide if respecting Frodo's choice to go to Mordor alone was the right thing to have done.

Saruman had created the Uruk-hai to be more intelligent than the average orc. They realized only some needed to stay and fight Aragorn, and keep him preoccupied, while the rest carried out Lurtz's orders to "Find the Halfings and Ponies!" Aragorn noticed a number of the Uruks running towards the eastern slopes of Amon Hen. Narrowly avoiding being stabbed by the Uruk he was currently dueling, he ran to the edge of the Seat of Seeing, and launched himself at the Uruks running below. Aragorn cried out the name of his great ancestor Elendil as he crashed into three Uruks, knocking them to the ground.

"For Equestria! For Princess Celestia!"

At Twilight's loud war cry, Aragorn realized he was now not alone. Twilight had returned to the summit and attacked the uruks' northern flank with great ferocity, her magical sword being swung fiercely, and dispatching three or the orcs in as many seconds. She smiled predatorly at the Uruks, and taunted them.

"Saruman is nothing but a whiny little bitch who couldn't stop even one little pony on his own!" she declared, before taking a page from Rainbow Dash's book and blowing a raspberry at them.

As Twilight hoped, her insult angered the Uruks and more turned their attention away from Aragorn to her.

Aragorn thought the Valar must be in a generous mood, as more reinforcements for the Fellowship arrived in the form of Legolas, Gimli, Pinkie Pie, and Spike who rode atop her back, before leaping into action with fire; lots of fire. Lots of fire that the Uruk-Hai had absolutely no desire to be burnt by, motivating them to fall back.

Legolas quickly killed two Uruks with an arrow each, while Gimli killed another with a throwing axe, before engaging in melee with his two-handed battle axe. Pinkie, meanwhile, was demonstrating incredible accuracy with her sling, catching one of the Uruks right between the eyes with a rock.

Between the six of them, Aragorn thought they could contain the Uruks on the summit from pursuing Frodo. Unfortunately, this left all the other Uruk-hai that had earlier gotten away when he faced them alone.

Twilight cleared a path through the Uruks to get to the other four Fellowship member. Her initial impression of the Uruk-Hai after encountering for herself, was that while they were stronger and better equipped than the goblins they had previously fought, they still had a long way to go to be a serious threat against the type of assault they could launch. Iron armaments, despite being thick and heavy, was no match for steel and magic.

Inferiority aside, however, their numbers were still significant, and still had to be dealt with.

Eventually, through their combined efforts there were no longer any Uruks at the summit that needed to be immediately fought. Noting this, Aragorn turned to his comrades to address them. "We must stop them before they reach the others!"

"Just where are the others?" Twilight asked.

"I last saw Applejack heading towards the western slopes of Amon Hen," Aragorn replied. He then slightly fudged the truth, "Where the others are currently, I know not."

As if in response to Aragorn's statement the sound of a loud horn came from the east. It appeared to be centered somewhere in the woods west of the slopes of Amon Hen. Twilight knew only one member of the Fellowship carried a war horn.

"The Horn of Gondor," Legolas calmly identified the sound.

"Boromir must be in need of help!" Twilight observed urgently, before the five of them began to run in the direction of the sound.

All the Uruk-hai in the vicinity had heard Boromir's horn as well, and began heading in its direction. A strange foot/hoof race had developed between the two different groups to get to the source of the horn first. A number of Uruks reversed course and sought to at least hinder the members of the Fellowship.

Twilight, wanting to waste no time with needless distractions, charged ahead. Her sword was dropped in favor of a magical barrier, and slammed into them much in the same manner she'd tried to cut a path through the snow up on the mountain prior to Moria. The resulting impact sent them flying and scattering like bugs, leaving them free to proceed on to find Boromir before it was too late.

"The lass knows how to make an entrance!" Gimli commented.

"You don't know the half of it," Spike stated.

A loud commotion behind them broke their focus. Turning around, they saw a large group of Uruk-hai currently falling down a narrow stairway, their heavy armor clanging on the ground and against each other.

"Cool, it worked!" Pinkie stated with a huge grin. Exactly what had happened, they didn't know. All they knew was that somehow, Pinkie had been involved.  

"Should we ask?" Legolas asked uncertainly.

"I dare not," Aragorn replied.

"Smart," Spike commented. The less asked about Pinkie, the safer they were.

"Go on, Aragorn!" Pinkie Pie shouted at him. "We can keep them busy, you go ahead and help Twilight and Boromir!"

The point was emphasized as they saw Pinkie utilize her swing, hurling a rock at one of the Uruk that was currently getting up. The impact produced a loud ringing sound as it knocked his head back at an extreme angle, and took his helmet clean off in the process.

Aragorn turned back towards the direction of Boromir's horn, leaving the three to fight the Uruks. He couldn't help but think that he now understood how Frodo felt when he told the Hobbit to flee the summit of Amon Hen.



Frodo ran as fast as his legs could carry him, desperate to escape this place; to escape any place really. Nothing good would ever come of this accursed ring being allowed to continue existing. It had successfully the Fellowship, tearing them apart, and putting them at odds with one another. Boromir had become insane with lust towards it, and Rainbow Dash wasn't far behind him in that department.

He had to get away not only from here, but from everyone else, as that was the only safe course of action he could imagine right now. If no one else was around him, then no one else would be tempted and fall because of the ring. It was his burden, and his alone to shoulder. It hadn't been right for the others to come along on this journey, as they were simply putting themselves in danger. The sooner he was away from them, the better off they'd all be.

"C'mere you!"

Unfortunately that plan didn't survive first contact, as he quickly found himself snatched up by a large orc, easily hoisted off the ground by his leg, and held upside down like a slab of meat at a butcher's shop; not a pleasant thought at all.

"Lord Saruman will reward me well for capturing you, halfling," the orc sneered with delight.

"Over my dead body he will!"

By the time Frodo realized he recognized that voice, it was already too late to be worried, as he had more pressing matters to concern himself with; like landing on his back and knocking the air out of his lungs as he was dropped to the hard ground beneath him.

"I gotcha."

As he worked to breathe again, he became aware of the fact that he was being picked up off the ground, and set down on his feet. And then he became aware of the fact that it was Rainbow Dash who'd come to his rescue. That fact almost made him wish the orc still had hold of him.

"You-" he breathed.

"Look, I'm sorry about back there," she said as she released him and set back down. "I wasn't myself. But I'm better now. Honest."

A groan from behind alerted them both to the fact that the floored orc was getting back up again, and was very displeased with the fact that he'd just been punched in the face with enough force to knock him back several paces.

"Stay behind me," Rainbow Dash instructed as she took up a position to the front. This Uruk-Hai wasn't getting to Frodo without going through her first.

"Well now, two for the price of one. Today's my lucky day," the orc cackled, before charging forward at them.

Rainbow Dash reared up on her hind legs, thrusting her hoof forward as the orc swung its sword at her, a metallic clang sounding at it came into contact with her shoe, which was actually making a very good shield at this point; mithril beat iron.

"More like your unlucky day!" Rainbow Dash stated, before pushing back, leaping up, and kicking him in the face with both hind legs, sending him toppling over again. Although considering the loud crack that had sounded from the impact, she doubted he was getting back up again; not anytime soon anyway.

"Do you know where the others are?" Frodo asked cautiously.

"Scattered all over the place," Rainbow Dash replied as she looked to see if anymore orcs were approaching their current position. "We need to regroup."

"Why? So that you can take the ring at your leisure? So that Boromir can make another attempt at claiming it for himself!?" Frodo asked, seeing no reason to trust Rainbow Dash's motives.

Rainbow Dash didn't like the insinuations one bit. "Now listen here, you sawed-off jerk," she growled as she glared at him, ready to give him an earful.

Before she could do that, however, she heard the sound of a horn being blown. And having heard it before, she knew what it was.

"Ugh, speaking of Boromir," she groaned, reasoning that he just couldn't stay out of trouble if he tried. "Look. Get to the river and wait there. If more orcs come, paddle out on one of the boats; with all that heavy armor on, I doubt they can swim all that well. You'll be about as safe there as anywhere," she told him. Right now it was the best she could do in keeping him safe.

Frodo stared at her in disbelief, but nodded and took off running again.

"Now to go and make sure Boromir didn't get his butt handed to him," she muttered to herself. He'd saved her from the goblins, the least she could do was save him from the orcs.

But first...



Boromir sounded the Horn of Gondor once again as he, Merry, Pippin, and Fluttershy kept falling further back southwards. Unlike what Rainbow Dash thought when she first saw it, the Horn was crafted from a wild ox horn. It had been an heirloom of the Stewards of Gondor for generations, and legend had it that if it were blown within the bounds of Gondor its call for aid would not go unheeded. Boromir hoped the legend was true, because right now all the Horn seemed to be attracting is more Uruk-Hai to their position. His tactic, for the moment, was to fight enough of a delaying action before the rest of the Fellowship arrived to their aid, as the four of them faced being overrun by the Uruk-hai's ever increasing numbers.

His companions were doing their best to aid in the battle, but there was only so much that two hobbits and an easily frightened pony could do against a force like this. Even he, with all his training and skill, knew that the overwhelming numbers were going to be the death of him if something didn't happen soon.

And then he felt his chest pierced by a large arrow.

The world seemed to become much smaller around him as he fell to his knees, too shocked at what had happened to actually pay proper attention to his surroundings. His mind was still trying to process and determine whether or not he'd really been hit.

"Run!" he yelled to the others, having enough clarity to know that they were still in danger.

Another arrow, this time piercing his left arm through the bicep, making it immediately drop to his side, completely useless. Even if he could make a fist without excruciating pain, he certainly couldn't lift it.

With blurred vision, he saw the Uruks beginning to run away to the left of him. He could only assume that meant they were disregarding him in favor of the others. He frantically crawled towards his sword, but as he gripped its hilt he was prevented from lifting it by a heavy leather boot that stood on the flat of the blade. Despite his daze, part of him had been wondering why the Uruks had not killed him yet. As he looked up at the boot's wearer, he easily understood why.

Lurtz sneered at him, who was on his hands and knees in front of him. He had ordered his Uruks to apprehend Saruman's desired captives and to leave the twisted pleasure of killing the Man with the horn to him. He sneered wider, drawing an arrow with his bow and pointed it at Boromir's face.

As he waited for his end, Boromir felt that he had never failed so many people so badly. He had failed to protect Fluttershy, Merry and Pippin from these fiends. He failed Frodo when he tried to take the Ring from him in a fit of unreasoned anger. He failed his father and brother that he would not be able to help them defend his and their beloved Gondor ever again. Most importantly, he felt he had failed himself. Even if Mordor emerged triumphant, Boromir felt he would at least die with his honor intact. But seeing he had broken his oath to the Council of Elrond by his actions towards Frodo, he did not even have that small comfort.

As he waited for the arrow to penetrate his skull, Boromir inwardly pleaded for mercy, but his plea wasn't towards the Uruk. Even if there was a slight chance the Uruk would relent, Boromir still had enough pride that he would never beg to an orc for anything. Rather his plea was to Eru Iluvatar, that his soul be judged mercifully in the Halls of Mandos, where he would be arriving very shortly. Lurtz gave him an evil, triumphant grin as he prepared to release his arrow.

"HEY UGLY!"

That yell. Boromir looked up, recognizing the voice. Whereas he'd prayed for mercy, instead he'd been supplied with a miracle.

Lurtz also looked skyward at hearing the yell, wondering just where it had come from.

"EAT THIS!"

The where quickly became a what, as a swift-moving prismatic blur approached, and two metal horseshoes were slammed right into his face, completely lifting him up off the ground and sending him flying backwards, before crashing against his back as he landed again.
Just what had he been hit by!?

"Can you move?"

It took Boromir a moment to realize that Rainbow Dash was addressing him as she faced forward while landing.

"I... I believe so," he responded as he climbed back up onto his feet; not a simple process, considering just how wounded he was.

Before Rainbow Dash could tell him to head for the river, the orc she'd slugged had already gotten back to his feet, his face bloody from the impact, and he didn't look the least bit happy. Already he was reaching for another arrow in his quiver. Although as big as they were, they could easily be called harpoons.

"Oh no you don't!" she yelled as she shot forward, swinging her hind leg for his head. Unfortunately he blocked with his bow to keep the blow from connecting. Although such a move had the unintended effect of shattering said bow, taking away the primary advantage he had over the others, rendering him nothing but a close-ranged threat now.

What she hadn't anticipated, was just how fast the brute would be in retaliation, and how easily he latched onto her leg; far quicker than she'd counted on. Apparently that double punch to the face hadn't taken any fight out of him. So she quickly followed up with a kick to the side of his head.

The fact he didn't seem fazed had her worried.

"You're gonna regret that!" she yelled in an effort to maintain her bravado, rather than letting it slip away. Although that was easier said than done when the orc abandoned the broken bow in order to withdraw his sword from his belt. "Uh oh..."

If she thought fighting Raglax had been bad when she had full range of movement on her side, it was quickly shaping up to be nothing compared to trying to fight in this type of restrained manner, as escape was proving to be impossible. Dodging proved to be more theory than anything else, forcing her to use her horseshoes to block to avoid getting sliced up.

That wasn't to say she didn't counterattack, as she did whenever the opportunity presented itself, kicking at him wherever she could land her hoof.

It was more luck than skill that found her able to latch onto the orc's sword arm during one particular, and pin it between her forelegs, enabling her to give it a mighty twist, which produced a mighty snap as she forcefully wrenched the shoulder out of joint. She honestly hadn't expected that to happen, but she would take what she could get. The Uruk-Hai might've been overbuilt, but they were far from invincible.

"How do you like that?" she asked cockily.

Her answer came as the orc relinquished his hold on her leg, and quick as a whip crack has his good hand around her throat now, and was squeezing her neck even harder than he had her leg. Out of the frying pan, and into the fire. Now the situation was worse, as she could feel it quickly becoming hard to breathe as he neck was constrained. Now she was panicking as she fought for air, and was getting nowhere fast. She could feel her mind getting foggy, and her limbs felt heavy like lead under water. Try as she might she just couldn't work up the speed needed for her blows to have the force that they should've had.

There were no two ways to it as far as she could see. She wasn't getting out of this one.

And then she caught sight of a glint of steel shimmering in the sun. The next thing she knew she felt air rushing back into her lungs with new found freedom. She quickly flew back as she found herself free, and scanned her surroundings as she frantically sucked down ragged breaths.

What she saw was Boromir standing there, wielding his sword with his good arm, and the orc standing with both arms at its sides, one hanging much lower than normal, and the other bleeding profusely from a deep cut to its bicep, damage to the tendon quite apparent.

"It would appear you have been disarmed," Boromir stated matter-of-factly.

The orc sneered in response, bearing his sharp teeth in annoyance. "Lord Saruman will do far worse to your little friends, once he has what he wants from them."

Boromir frowned, not liking the sound of that one bit. Rather than ask the orc what that would entail, or engage in a battle of wits, he chose to simply raise his sword, using the shoulder of his injured arm to support its heft, before swinging outward and simply decapitating the beast entirely. Even if he'd chosen to spare their captive, he doubted any information would've been gathered, either willingly or otherwise. And now with the headless corpse of Lurtz in a heap on the ground, he turned his attention to Rainbow Dash.

"Are you alright?"

Before Rainbow Dash had to opportunity to respond, or even process everything she'd seen happen, her ears perked up at the sound of movement around her. Instantly she assumed others were approaching their position in preparation of continuing what had been started.

A sense of relief came over her as she saw that their friends rather than foes; in this case it was Applejack and Rarity, both of whom were looking worse for wear. Applejack was covered in mud, and walking with a bad limp as she favored her hind leg. Rarity was an absolute mess, her white coat stained with mud, bloodstains, and a good portion of her long mane now was ragged and short. In short they looked like she felt.

"What in the Hay happened to you?" she asked abruptly.

"Uruk-Hai," Applejack panted as she leaned against Rarity for support, "lots of 'em. Twilight really wasn' kiddin'. Ah woulda been a goner if Rares hadn' come along when she did."

Rarity nodded in agreement, far too tired to offer her own elaboration. "As beastly as they were, I'm surprised either of us made it out of there as unscathed as we did."

And then she took note of Rainbow Dash and Boromir, and was positively aghast at their wounded predicament. She and Applejack might've taken a beating, but at least they hadn't been violated be arrows of all things! If her face hadn't been white underneath all of the grime they'd accumulated, she would've been positively pale.

"That ain't good," Applejack noted bluntly, "we're gonna need ta get those out if yer gonna have any chance at gettin' better."

"Under present circumstances, that would be unadvised!"

Everyone turned to look in the direction the voice had come, and saw Aragorn and Twilight currently approaching, the latter nursing a nasty looking head wound if the amount of blood on the side of her face was any indication. Behind them were Gimli, Legolas, Pinkie, and Spike bringing up the rear, each of them looking tired.

"Well it sure took you two long enough!" Rainbow Dash stated, annoyed by the lateness of their arrival. "We could've used some help like five minutes ago, where were you?" she asked.

"Tied up with a mess of Uruk-Hai of our own. We got here as soon as we could," Twilight elaborated as they approached. "Aragorn's right about the arrows, though. Right now they're acting like a cork, because Boromir's wound has closed around them. If we tried pulling them out just like that, especially the one in his chest, he could easily bleed to death, if not outright drown in his own blood before we could get it under control. Leaving it in won't do anymore damage than has already been done; this isn't a Morgul blade we're dealing with."

Aragorn nodded. "Back at the campsite, in my pack is a black pouch of medical supplies. They may be of use to us," he stated.

"No offense to ya, Aragorn, ya bein' a king's kin an' all, but Ah saw the level of yer medical expertise when tended ta Fluttershy's head wound. Ah don't really think yer doctor material," Applejack stated. Based on what she'd seen, Aragorn was hardly a jack of all trades, and his level of medical knowledge was downright primitive to what she'd seen back in Equestria. Personally she had no idea how Boromir was going to survive whatever surgery he was going to be subjected to.

"Well whatever are we to do? We can't leave poor Boromir in this condition!" Rarity pointed out.

"And we won't," Twilight assured her. Before she continued, she turned her attention to the aforementioned arrows. The ends became enveloped in her magical aura, and in a flash they were gone, leaving but a scant few inches of wooden shaft behind. That would reduce the weight Boromir's injuries would be subjected to, while still allowing them to be grasped and removed under the right conditions. "Can you move, Boromir? Do we need to carry you?"

"I can move," Boromir wheezed and nodded, "just do not ask me to sprint anywhere, anytime soon."

"Good," Twilight replied and nodded. "I have an idea that might work. But first we need to find everyone and make sure they're safe. Meanwhile we need to get Boromir somewhere comfortable so he can rest; too much physical activity would be very bad right now," she explained, more addressing the group that any particular member of it.

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity had all seen Twilight get like she was currently; fixated on a specific end goal. And they knew from experience that when she got like this, asking questions for clarification tended to slow things down more than just going along and seeing for themselves whatever she had in mind.

The look they gave Aragorn seemed to convey this fact just fine, as he didn't look particularly motivated to ask any questions afterward. Instead it was just a muttering to Boromir to lean on him for support, to which the injured man offered up no argument, as they made their way back to the camp.

"What of the little ones? Merry and Pippin? And Fluttershy? Are they safe?" Boromir asked as they engaged in the arduous task of getting back to what served as their campsite. "They we with me until just a short while ago. I lost track of them after that."

"I cannot say, for I do not know," Aragorn replied as he did his best not to aggravate Boromir's injuries anymore than they already were. "But I suspect we will find out the answer shortly."

With Rainbow Dash present and able to provide a literal bird's eye view of the surrounding territory, he had no doubt that the missing Fellowship members would soon be found.
> Down the Anduin and Fellowship Broken (Part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Down the Anduin and Fellowship Broken (Part 3)


Boromir let out a sharp hiss of pain through grit teeth, the ad-hoc medical care he was being treated to at the campsite proving to be far more excruciating than he'd initially anticipated it to be.

"That stings like the devil," he grunted, doing his best to not verbalize just how bad the extent of it was.

The removal of the remnants of the arrow shafts had been incredibly painful to experience on its own. But it paled in comparison to the method of treating his wounds that was being employed. That being application of the medicine that Galadriel had given Spike for their journey. True to her word, it had wondrous healing properties that had to be seen to be believed; with but a drop or two being applied, one could practically watch as flesh, bone, and muscle restored itself in mere moments to an unharmed state, leaving nothing behind but what looked like a bruise on the exposed skin as the wound appeared to evaporate in a wisp of smoke.

However that didn't change the fact that it had a burn like fire when applied, and remained burning the whole time it worked.

"Ah don' know who this 'devil' character is, but Ah'll agree that it smarts somethin' fierce," Applejack stated from where she stood. Them not knowing how the medicine would work, she'd volunteered to test it out first for everyone's safety. At the discomfort immediately following the application she'd nearly begged the others to cut her leg off, figuring that it couldn't possibly hurt any worse. But the pain had eventually passed, and her leg was as good as new, minus the bruise and general soreness from the point of impact. But a bruise was a lot easier to deal with than a bleeding gash that could get infected.

"The alternative would be far worse, I can assure you of that," Aragorn stated as he put the stopper back in the vial. "We were fortunate Lady Galadriel saw fit to provide us with such a remedy," he added, hoping the reminder would quell whatever lingering distrust of the Elves was still present in Boromir.

With the threat of the Uruk-Hai forcefully beaten and driven back, they were allowed a brief respite to regroup at the campsite, and take stock of the situation they found themselves in. That situation being the Fellowship was broken in more ways than one; half of their members missing and nowhere to be found, necessitating those present to split up and search for them, while those that remained behind tended to the injured and exhausted.

Out of everyone that had made up the Fellowhip, the only ones still present were Aragorn and Boromir, Spike, Rarity, and Applejack.

Boromir had been the worst case, but that did nothing to change the fact that the others had been through harrowing experiences themselves.

As far as Applejack was concerned, appearance-wise, Rarity looked the worse for wear of the lot of them that were present. She was completely covered in mud -and likely in orc blood- staining her white coat something fierce, that would likely lead to her complaining about such once they had a quiet moment. But most shocking, at least to her, was the fact that her mane was cut short in such a ratty style right now. When one of the orcs had grabbed her from behind, she hadn't hesitated to lop off over half the length of the long strands with her elven sword to break free and avoid capture.

It wasn't necessarily a bad look, it just wasn't Rarity's look.

The rest of them fared better for the most part, just scrapes and scratches, and general soreness from when the orcs had gotten rough and bare-handed in their approach.

"I'm afraid there's not much I can do without my sewing supplies. Bear with me," Rarity stated as she examined the tears in Boromir's shirt, necessitated by what passed for medical care in this world. The best she could do was tack it back together, but it would have to do for the time being. With that fact in mind she proceeded to pluck one of the hairs from her tail -wincing in the process- before working her magic to intertwine it into the fabric fibers in order to pull them shut tightly.

"So how long do we just stand around and wait for the others to find us?" Spike asked as he pocketed the vial once more, worried that they weren't seeing any signs of the rest of their group just yet. Where had they disappeared to?

"I do not know. But if we do not see them soon, we will need to search for them ourselves," Aragorn stated, knowing that at the moment, all they could do was wait and hope for the best.

"Are you sure they came this way?" Twilight asked.

"Nope, but it's all I've got right now," Rainbow Dash replied and shrugged. She'd told Frodo to wait by the river in case they lost control of the situation, and to make a break for it if things went south. It's possible he'd panicked and paddled off down the river, following its current; it would certainly explain why they hadn't found him yet. It would also explain why they hadn't found anyone else yet in their search.

Thankfully she wasn't alone in the search, as that would've made it at least twice as hard. But even if that wasn't the case, at least she wasn't alone right now.

The feathers on Twilight's wing still hadn't grown back in yet, but that had done little to slow her down in her assistance to finding the others; primarily because she was levitating herself for locomotion. It was a very magic-intensive approach, something she could only do as an Alicorn, and she needed to keep her wings out to help steady herself as she levitated along, but it was a viable method of travel over the water for the time being.

"It still seems like quite a stretch to assume they came this way, based on what you told Frodo during a battle," Twilight pointed out.

"Maybe, but like I said, it's all I've got. Otherwise we fly over the forest, trying to find a lot of earth tones through tree canopies, all in hope that some of them are our friends," Rainbow Dash retorted.

"Good point," Twilight replied and nodded, seeing the wisdom of her statement.

As it turned out, Rainbow Dash's hunch eventually paid off, as they saw a solitary boat in the distance, looking very similar to their own. It didn't do anything to shed light on where the rest of their party had gone, but at least it with a start. They both broke into a headlong dive as they made their approach, before shooting past, and coming back around to discover not only Frodo, but Sam as well, who was looking as if he'd fallen overboard at some point.

"There you two are!" Twilight stated in a tone that could best be described as the relief experienced by a mother who found her missing children to be safe and sound. "Do you have any idea how worried everyone is about you?" she asked as she hovered in front of the boat.

Rainbow Dash nodded in response. "We beat back the orcs, it's safe to come back to the campsite."

"Be that as it may, it is too dangerous to return," Frodo replied, unmoved by their assessment of the situation, all the while never stopping his rowing.

"It's a lot more dangerous out here by yourself, Frodo. You and Sam would be better off with the rest of the Fellowship, rather than alone," Twilight stated.

"It's a lot more dangerous than that with that accursed ring tearing the Fellowship apart, and turning them against one another," Sam spoke up firmly. Frodo had told him about what had happened, with both Boromir and Rainbow Dash. "There's no telling who will fall next. How do we know the two of you didn't come to take the ring for yourselves?"

"As opposed to the two of you sneaking off with it and leaving us to die?" Rainbow Dash asked. For that they had no immediate response.

Twilight wanted to speak up and tell her that she shouldn't talk like that. But try as she might, she couldn't ignore that Rainbow Dash did sort of have a point. They really didn't know what the two Hobbits had been up to.

"This is different," Frodo asserted as he tried to row harder to put distance between them. "You were not there when Boromir lost control of himself. You did not see the desperation in his eyes, the determination to do whatever was needed to take the ring for himself!"

"Maybe not," Twilight admitted, cutting off whatever retort Rainbow Dash had in mind. "But I was there afterward, to witness the aftermath of him fighting to protect our friends from the Uruk-Hai, and nearly die in the process. As far as I'm concerned, he atoned for his actions," she stated, making no move to actually move out of the way of the boat.

Frodo's conviction faltered at hearing Twilight's statement. However the faltering was only for a moment, before her steeled his nerve and continued rowing on. Or at least he did until Rainbow Dash swooped down and pushed against the front of the boat to inhibit their forward advance.

"You don't wanna listen, that's fine, you don't have to. But one way or another, you're going back to camp, even if I have to fly the both of you back there," she stated as she began to push back, against both their rowing, and the current of the river with a grunt. "If you wanna keep going the other way, you're gonna have to swim for it."

"Now hold on just a minute here!" Sam protested as they found themselves being pushed back. "Don't we get a say in this matter for ourselves?"

"No," Rainbow Dash grunted as she continued pushing, flapping her wings hard to propel herself further forward. "Like I said, for all we know you two conspired to let the orcs kill us, and make off with the ring for yourselves. Why should we believe you if you say otherwise?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Rainbow Dash does raise a good point," Twilight spoke up as she levitated alongside. "We've come to learn a great deal about the negative properties of Sauron's ring. It's not unreasonable to assume you two are as vulnerable to it as any one of us might be, and acting under its influence. It's best if you return to the camp with us, and we can discuss it from there, and decide on how to proceed. Hopefully by the time we get back, the others will be found."

"I'm imploring you, please let us pass," Frodo begged, "it is too dangerous to be around us. This ring will bring nothing good to all those around it. It would be in your best interest to simply let us pass, and forget all about us."

"Yeah, maybe it would," Rainbow Dash admitted, "but friends don't abandon friends just because times get rough, even if they're being jerks about it. We're in this together, for better or worse, come Tartarus or high water."

Twilight nodded in agreement to Rainbow Dash's assessment. "I know the situation may seem bad right now, but my friends and I actually went through something much worse than even this. In fact the case could be made that we've been through two, three, or even four situations that were worse than this. And in each situation, we came through by sticking together, rather than falling apart," she explained. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra, Tirek... with all they'd seed and encountered, Sauron could be considered little more than just one more bump in the road for them.

Granted he was a really big bump, but the point remained regardless. She had no doubt in her mind that if they stuck together, they'd be able to triumph over whatever they encountered. The Balrog notwithstanding.

"Uh huh, fascinating," Rainbow Dash grunted, "now get down here and help me push this thing back to camp, it's harder than it looks."

"Actually, Rainbow Dash, I have a better idea in mind," Twilight replied with a grin.

A bright flash of lavender light alerted those at the campsite to the fact that Twilight and Rainbow Dash had teleported back to camp, each foreleg wrapped firmly around Frodo and Sam, the latter looking quite unsteady on his feet after the experience; to be expected since he'd never experienced teleportation for himself before. That brought their group size up to nine.

"Oh that takes some getting used to," Sam muttered as Twilight let him go, finding it necessary to try and steady himself in order to avoid falling face first on the ground. It was a lot like having too much to drink, but without the fun of actually getting to that point.

"They were quite a ways down the river by the time we finally found them," Twilight explained. She'd grabbed the two and teleported them back here with Rainbow Dash in tow, but not before recalling the boat on a return course to the shore; there was no sense in leaving it out in the middle of the water at the mercy of the current. Nor was there reason to leave it to Rainbow Dash to bring it back on her own.

"It was a mistake to bring us back here," Frodo protested once again. "We're being torn apart, and turned against one another by this accursed ring."

"Yeah? Well that's too bad, because you're still not getting rid of us," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Have any of the others made it back yet?" Twilight asked in an effort to change the topic to something other than Frodo's insistence that it was too dangerous to be around him.

Rarity shook her head in response. "I'm sorry, darling, but we've seen neither hide nor hair of any of them. Pinkie and Fluttershy are both missing, along with Gimli, Legolas, and Merry and Pippin. Not that we've had much opportunity for scouting very far, but there's no trace to be found. It's almost as if they've completely vanished."

Twilight frowned, not liking the sound of that one bit. They'd been hoping that the rest of their party had set off with Frodo down the river, but that hadn't been the case. And if they weren't making contact yet... well the possibilities simply weren't good. They could've been captured, hurt and unable to make contact, or... or maybe even killed. None of those three possibilities set well with her at all.

"Maybe they're just lost? No offense, but Merry and Pippin aren't the brightest of the bunch," Rainbow Dash pointed out.

"Even if that were so, Legolas and Gimli are not in the same category as Merry and Pippin. All of them could not be lost," Aragorn replied. Merry and Pippin getting lost and not being able to find their way back, he could certainly believe that, but not the rest of them.

"Well then where could they..." Rainbow Dash started to say, only to stop as a look that could best be described as terror washed over her face. "Oh crap!"

"What? What is it?" Spike asked.

"Well at the time I didn't think much of it, I thought it was just them talking a lot of smack and such. But I heard some of the orcs talking about Saruman rewarding them, and about what he was gonna do to our friends," she explained. She didn't even wait for them to reply before continuing. "What if the reason we can't find them, is because the orcs are taking them back to Isengard?"

A silent look of pure horror washed over the others at this suggested possibility, none of them having considered it before. But now that it was actually out there for consideration...

"Those brutes did abandon the skirmish quite easily; even the goblins put up more of a fight than they did," Rarity pointed out. What if it wasn't their efforts that drove them back? What if their friends had indeed been captured, and that was their entire purpose here?

"Does anypony know jus' which way Isengard is?" Applejack asked.

"I will not go!"

All eyes turned in the direction of the outburst, which turned out to be Frodo, standing with a look of sternness on his face.

"This ring will bring nothing but misfortune to anyone around it. Too many have been tempted by its evil, and I refuse to put anyone else at further risk. I will not take so much as one step towards Isengard. I am going to Mordor on my own, and I will not be stopped!" he stated.

Sam nodded as firmly as he could, trying to keep up with Frodo's determination and bravado. "And I'm going with him," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh huh," Rainbow Dash muttered, unimpressed and unbelieving of what she was hearing. "It sounds to me like Boromir and I aren't the only ones that were lusting hard after that ring. What about you, Rarity, doesn't it kinda sound like Sam and Frodo have ulterior motives in mind?"

"Much as I hate to, I must admit that it does sound like that," Rarity agreed and nodded. But no sooner did she nod, did she turn to address Sam and Frodo. "Not that I don't actually believe you, Frodo, I honestly believe you're worried about what might become of us if we remain together. But the case could certainly be made that your behavior is somewhat suspicious, and could be misconstrued as something potentially nefarious..."

Applejack nodded in agreement. "The two o' ya don' look like ya could come up with a convincin' lie between ya. But that don' mean the ring ain' influencin' ya. How do we really know that ya aren't gonna sneak off when our backs are turned, an' keep the ring fer yerselves?"

Frodo felt floored by the sudden inquisition into the purity of his motives. He wanted to protest their suspicions, but try as he might he couldn't find the words that would assure them; for he couldn't even assure himself. What if they really were right? What if the ring had swayed his judgement, and made him think that he was doing the right thing for their sake, when it reality it was as far from that as it could possibly be?

Suddenly he wasn't so confident in his evaluation of Boromir and Rainbow Dash, motivating him to look down at the ground.

Twilight frowned in response to seeing everything unfold. She could understand Rainbow Dash having such a position, but she didn't expect Rarity and Applejack to side with her in being suspicious of Frodo's intentions. But more than that, she hadn't expected them to have a valid position that she found herself agreeing with. They knew so little about the power of Sauron's ring, there was no telling what the scope of its influence was.

However that didn't invalidate Frodo's concerns.

"Nevertheless, Frodo's right about not wanting to take the ring to Isengard; we might as well just hand it over to Sauron directly if we're going to do that, and cut out Saruman entirely," she stated.

"So what do we do then? We need to find the others, but we can't just leave poor Frodo alone. And we certainly can't have him follow us if we have to trek towards Isengard to find them if they've been captured; for all we know Saruman sent those orcs to bring some of us back to use for ransom for the ring," Rarity pointed out. She certainly wouldn't put something like that past him, knowing what she did about him from Twilight's tales.

Over where Boromir and Aragorn stood, it was easy for both men to feel as if they'd been forgotten about, as the Equestrians went about discussing what sort of plan to put into motion to address their missing comrades. But considering the amount of experience they possessed in their own world dealing with crises, perhaps they didn't need any assistance in this matter. That left them to talk amongst themselves while waiting to either be addressed, or otherwise brought into the discussion of whatever was going to occur.

"It would appear that you have been provided with a second chance," Aragorn commented idly to Boromir. He had seen Frodo's conviction falter at Rainbow Dash's accusation, and the others joining her. Perhaps this would serve to strengthen the Fellowship's bond. "But do not waste it," he warned sternly.

"Never again," Boromir replied and shook his head. He would not fall for the allure of the ring again. He would resist, he would keep his wits about him, he would atone for his actions during his moment of weakness, however it proved necessary.

"You can't be serious!"

The shriek that came from Twilight alerted them both to the fact that something was occurring with the rest of their party, raising their curiosity at to just what had gotten the Alicorn so worked up.

"I am, it makes the most sense," Spike stated. "Come on, Twilight, you know I'm right about this."

"What is the trouble?" Aragorn asked as he and Boromir approached, each of them wanting to know what was going on, and what had transpired in the few moments they'd diverted their attention elsewhere.

"I wish I could say," Sam replied, feeling hopelessly lost at how things had progressed so quickly. He'd been standing right there the entire time, and he'd still missed it.

"Spike wants us to split up!" Twilight stated.

"Well the way I see it, we really don't have a lot of choice otherwise," Spike stated in return. "C'mon, Twilight, think about it! If the others have been captured, we can't exactly risk taking the ring to Isengard, you said it yourself. And even if we catch up with them and bring them back in an hour, it doesn't change the fact that we need to go to Mordor regardless," he pointed out.

"But-" Twilight started, only for Spike to cut her off as he kept talking.

"It just makes the most sense. Frodo, Sam and I have the shortest stride out of anyone in the group. We can't run as fast, or cover as much ground as the rest of you. If we come along we're just going to slow everyone down. It'd be in everyone's best interest if the three of us went ahead by boat to Mordor now, and you can catch up with us later when the others are found and safe again," he explained. To him it made the most amount of sense. It was the best management of their resources that he could imagine.

"Spike, deary, while I admire your courage, such a plan just strikes me as being incredibly dangerous," Rarity stated, just as horrified as Twilight, but still trying to be eloquent. "This isn't a simple trip through the Manehattan marketplace we're talking about, this is a journey to Mordor! There's poisonous air, and orcs, and countless other dangers there."

"Which is all the more reason that I need to go along. There's danger everywhere in this world, apparently, so what could be safer than traveling with a dragon?" Spike asked in response. If he could bathe in magma without issue, then poisonous fumes really shouldn't pose too much risk for him. "Besides, I'm pretty much the only one here who touched the ring, and still tried destroying it without a second thought. There's real strength in numbers," he added. Not that he didn't trust Frodo and Sam, but what could it hurt?

"Ta be honest, Ah'm really not seein' much choice here. We gotta rescue our friends, but we've gotta keep the ring safe too. Ah think Spike goin' with 'em is the only real option we have. At least if he goes along, we know Sam an' Frodo will be safer than if they went off on their own like they were tryin' ta do," Applejack pointed out.

Twilight looked between everyone present, hoping to find some support in this case. She didn't want to just like Spike go like he was suggesting, as she was terrified of the prospect of losing him, and never seeing him again.

But how could she, the Princess of Friendship, in good conscience, let Sam and Frodo embark on a mission that she felt was too dangerous for Spike to undertake on his own? He was stronger than they were, he could withstand more physical injury than they could; he could take a goblin arrow to the skull and it would ricochet off, leaving him with just a headache for crying out loud!

Try as she might, she simply couldn't muster the necessary words. All she could do was just sweep him up and hug him for all he was worth.

"Please be safe," she pleaded with him.

"Hey, it's not like we're not gonna see each other again. You'll find the others, and you'll catch up with us. We'll be away, what, overnight at the most? Mordor's still far away, we'll be alright," Spike pointed out as he tried to easy her worry.

"Darling, we do need to find the others. Every minute we spend talking about this, they could be getting further and further out," Rarity pointed out.

"Right. Right," Twilight replied as she set Spike back down and rubbed her eyes. "I'll escort everyone back to the boat, then we'll set out to find the others."

"Hold up," Rainbow Dash spoke up, before emitting a defeated sigh. "They... they can't go anywhere. Not yet at least."

The others watched as Rainbow Dash unfurled both of her wings, before using her right to poke around at the underside of her left. Twilight had no idea what sort of Pegasus behavior she was witnessing, but before she could ask for clarification, she watched as as she withdrew her right ring to display a thin chain with...

... With Sauron's ring hanging on the end of it...

Where Rainbow Dash had kept that this entire time, she didn't really know; she still had a lot of study on Pegasus wing anatomy to do, since they were still a subject she knew so little about, despite having them herself. But right now her main concern was the fact that her friend had possession of the ring, much as she did in the possible future she witnessed! Already her heart was beating faster, blood practically pounding in her ears.

Frodo looked at the ring, before looking down to feel at his chest, and peeling open his shirt to reveal nothing but his mithril armor underneath. He looked back up at Rainbow Dash incredulously. "How did you get that!?"

"It fell off when that orc had you hanging upside down," Rainbow Dash clarified. "By the time I spotted it laying there, you were too far gone, and I had to get to Boromir before he got killed. I couldn't just leave it laying there, so I... decided to hold onto it for the time being..."

The tension in the camp was thick enough to be cut with a butter knife as the chain dangled from Rainbow Dash's feathers, the subject of her gaze as she merely stood there, watching it hang limply. More than a few of them didn't want to admit it, but they were anticipating things getting difficult, and they didn't want that.

"It's funny, how this little thing has been causing us so much trouble for so long," she commented idly. "I'll admit it, when I first saw this, I wanted it so bad. I've been wanting it ever since then, too. It's been taunting me, telling me that if I didn't take it for myself, I would be disloyal to my friends by leaving them to get killed, because I'd be too weak to protect them without its power," she said to no one in particular as she continued her gaze. Finally, with a sigh, she shut her eyes and hung her head. "And then when I finally do get a hold of it for myself, I still can't do anything to save my friends, even though I had it with me this whole time!"

Without another word, she fully extended her wing towards Frodo.

"It's yours, Frodo, I don't want this thing anymore; I don't want it nearly likely I thought it would when it was out of my reach. I'd much rather have my friends back safe and sound."

To everyone that had been aware of Rainbow Dash's struggles to control her unhealthy lust for the ring, it came as quite the surprise to see her simply return it of her own volition, without any of them having to actually that it belonged to Frodo. She could've taken the ring for herself, and departed to parts unknown with it in tow like Gollum had. And instead she'd remained behind to fight to protect her friends against Saruman's forces, before opting to give it back of her own volition. Even Frodo was dumbstruck as he reached out and took the chain from her wing, operating on a mechanical rather than conscious level as he lifted it from her feathery appendage.

Twilight was left to speculate on how this had happened. Right now the only theory that came to mind, was that the magic of the Element of Loyalty was still present in Rainbow Dash's body in a latent form, and once it had come into physical contact with the magic of Sauron's ring, had actually repelled it, and shielded her from its corrupting influence. Perhaps she had to actually touch it for the magic to be triggered, and Galadriel's mirror wasn't aware of such facts, when even she herself hadn't foreseen something like this being a possibility.

It was sort of life fire; it was pretty, right up until you dared to touch it and it burnt you, and you didn't want to touch it again after that.

"Thank you," was all Frodo could say in response as he slipped the chain back around his neck.

"We're proud o' ya, Sugarcube," Applejack stated, thankful that her friend had made the right decision. "Now c'mon, we've got others in need of rescuin', an' we sure ain't gonna accomplish it jus' standin' around an' talkin'!"

"Right then. I'll just escort Spike and the others back to the boat before joining up with you, then we can try and find the others," Twilight stated. "Rainbow Dash, do you think you can fly up and look around? Maybe see if you can spot any sign of the others? Just in case they weren't taken hostage by the orcs?"

"On it," Rainbow Dash replied before saluting and taking off straight up into the sky. She was confident that if there was any trace of their friends to spot, she'd be able to; colors like pink and yellow stood out pretty well against the dull earth tones the found themselves surrounded by.

"Aragorn an' Ah can scout around down below, see if we find any tracks ta follow," Applejack stated.

"Very good. Once Spike, Frodo and Sam are off, I'll reconvene with the rest of you," Twilight replied, feeling slightly better now that they had a game plan to go by. It wasn't much of one, but at least it was something.

"Boromir."

Twilight stopped when she realized that it was Frodo who was speaking up. Looking to the Hobbit, she realized that he was facing Boromir, but not with the same fear and distrust he had earlier. Even Boromir seemed confused by this turn of events.

"About earlier. I... think that I understand now," Frodo stated.

Boromir was left without an adequate response to what Frodo had said. All he could really do was nod, before Frodo turned and began to leave with the others.

If Frodo was willing to forgive him, then perhaps he could actually go about forgiving himself. Perhaps his prayer from earlier was actually being answered after all.

"Then let us be on our way," he stated.

"Are you sure you're up for this, Boromir?" Rarity asked.

"Quite certain," Boromir replied with an air of confidence as he spoke. "In fact, I feel far better than for some time now."



At the same time in Caras Galadhon, Galadriel was looking into the Mirror; more specifically the one that held Twilight's vision of the future.

This image showing Rainbow Dash's descent and corruption by the ring, and the Orcs in the background howling in victory as they butchered the remnants of the Free People, had been going on for a while until she noticed a shift in the image was replacing the current prediction. No longer was Rainbow Dash corrupted by the ring's influence, but now was rather a corpse herself, with the ring nowhere to be found.

Galadriel gave a sad smile, as while this changes nothing of Sauron's complete victory as seen in the Mirror, she took Rainbow Dash joining her dead friends instead of killing them herself as a good sign that there is a chance that the future might be changed.

Celeborn noticed Galadriel looking in the Mirror far from their house.

"Is all well, my love?" he simply asked.

Galadriel turned to her husband and replied, "Yes, milord." She then gave a small smile before saying, "There's greater hope for the Pony race than I first thought."
> Intermission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Meanwhile in Equestria...


Celestia had known for certain that something terrible had occurred. She'd known it to be a fact, just hours after sending Twilight the warning about the increased solar activity, and the risk it posed in conjunction with the magic mirror.

Her former student had been many things throughout her life. But lazy when it came to matters of important correspondence, that was most certainly not one of them.

She certainly hadn't expected an immediate response to her communication, as that would've simply been too unrealistic. But she'd still expected to hear something back before too long. But nothing had come through; not a single response of any sort. And the longer it continued, the more anxious she found herself becoming. And with every passing moment, the urge to investigate grew stronger, and stronger, and stronger still.

She'd managed to resist her impulse to investigate for a mere two hours, before she could no longer hold out, and proceeded to make a beeline for Ponyville at top teleportation speeds. If it was possible to cause a sonic boom while in the act of teleporting, she was certain it'd been done as she made her way to the Friendship Palace to investigate the matter for herself, and determine whether or not her friends were safe and sound.

The combination of her impatience, and the speed of her travels, had allowed her to arrive at the palace just in time to observe as the open portal collapsed in on itself, and completely faded from existence, leaving nothing but the smooth surface of the mirror behind in its place.

Her response had been loud, it had been fierce, and it had been most impolite, bordering on illegal in certain countries in Equestria. How the crystal structure of the palace hadn't developed stress fractures from what it'd been subjected to, she honestly didn't know. She'd inquire about that later on.

An exhaustive search of the surrounding area of and around Ponyville had all but confirmed her worst fears; Twilight and the others were nowhere to be found in Equestria, and were now lost somewhere in the void beyond their own dimension.
In light of such facts, much as Celestia hated to admit to such, this was now Discord's area of expertise, and she had to rely on him if she wanted to get the others back safe and sound.

That was what led them to where they were currently, with Discord working his chaos magic as he consulted with the mirror, while she paced anxiously in the background.

"You're certain that you haven't seen any sign of them?"

To say Discord consulted with the mirror, it was a most literal explanation of what was currently going on. Through whatever manner, he had managed to use its latent magic to open portals with other worlds in a search of their missing friends. Sometimes his efforts led to meetings with the inhabitants of the strange, foreign realms, which led to communication between them.

The latest of such meetings involved a rather strange looking individual. Clearly feminine -from what Celestia knew of the particulars of the humanoid form based on Twilight's notes- although the lower half of its face was obscured by a rather high collar of a white jacket. All she could really make out was a patch of dirty blond hair on top of its/her head, and piercing blue eyes and could bore a hole right through whoever looked into them.

"Quite certain," the figure replied simply but firmly, in a tone that commanded respect but didn't outright demand it. "What you speak of is... most certainly not native to this world, and would stick out like a sore thumb. But I can't speak for what lays in the vast deserts beyond the city walls."

"That's what I was afraid of," Discord muttered as he stroked his chin with a frown. He then proceeded to toss the frown aside before addressing the figure again. "I do hate to impose, seeing as we've just met and all, but could I trouble you to have them looked for in the event they are there? They're quite important over here and we need them back."

"I'll have an eye kept out for them. If they're found, they'll be taken care of. Provided they're still alive. This is a harsh world, and I can't offer you any guarantees," the figure replied with a nod. "But how will I get in contact with you should they be found?"

With a snap of Discord's talon, an object appeared in front of the figure, just hovering in air as if it were waiting to be taken.

"If you should find them just call me right up, I'm always home. Just ring 362436 and I'll be right over faster than you can said Ticonderoga. That is assuming you can say Ticonderoga," Discord stated.

At this the figure turned his attention to Celestia, wearing what could only be assumed as being a inquisitive look on her face. "Does he make any sense to you?"

Celestia shook her head in response. "I gave up on trying to make sense of him long ago," she admitted. "I thank you for your willingness to assist us in our efforts at finding our missing ponies. It really isn't an exaggeration to say they've saved the world several times over. We could very well be lost without them."

"Noted," the figure responded, before the mirror's surface fluctuated and the communication cut out completely.

Celestia sighed and slouched, feeling gravity of the situation weighing heavily on her withers right now. This had been going on for days now, and she honestly didn't feel like they were any closer in their search now than they had been when they had started out. They'd searched through so, so many dimensions already, only to meet with nothing at all. She didn't want to host negative thoughts, but she was starting to fear that the worst had truly come to pass.

"We're getting nowhere," she sighed and sat down on her haunches on the crystal flooring.

She then leaped up with an excited yip at feeling something against her flanks. Looking down she saw that it was the frown from earlier, currently scurrying about much like a rodent or cockroach would. With a frown she stomped on it with her back hoof, putting an end to that particular nuisance at least.

"Nowhere? My dear 'Tia, we haven't even begun to reach Nowhere yet," Discord replied as he faced her and crossed his mismatched arms over his chest. "Believe me, I've been to Nowhere, and you'll know it when you see it."

Celestia frowned in response. "I'm in no mood for your jokes right now, Discord, all I care about is getting Twilight and the others back, safe and sound!"

"And you think that I don't!?" Discord snapped back, his tone quite harsh; harsh enough that it actually caused Celestia to falter at hearing it. "I'm just as concerned about them as you are, 'Tia, if not even more so. So if I'm joking about the matter, I assure you that it's a necessary defense against my own going anymore insane than I already am! We've been here for days, going through alternate dimension after alternate dimension in our search, only to come up with nothing. Trust me, you're not the only one who's getting worried here; we're quickly running out of alternate dimensions where they could possibly be. And once we get to the end of the line, we'll either have to start over and circle back through and see if we missed anything, or start looking elsewhere..."

Celestia really didn't like the tone Discord's voice had taken when he mentioned looking elsewhere. It sent an uncomfortable chill right up her spine.

"I'm almost afraid to ask what that would involve," she admitted uneasily.

"Well once we run out of alternate dimensions to scour, we'll have little choice but to switch our focus to alternate realities," Discord stated.

"I'm... sorry I don't understand. Aren't those the same thing as one another?" Celestia asked.

Discord gave an amused chuckle in response as he shook his head. "No, no, my dear, they're both quite different," he stated as he waved his lion's paw, and began crafting a visual display to make the explanation easier. "Alternate dimensions, parallel dimensions, whatever you wish to call them; they all exist in the same space, at the same time, but they're out of phase with one another and don't interact with one another. But as numerous as they all are, there's only a finite number of dimensions in existence."

Celestia focused on what Discord was saying, paying attention as various lines and shapes were being drawn up as an illustration point, doing her best not to get lost in the process.

"Alternate realities, however, are another matter entirely. In this great big multiverse we call home, there's a nearly infinite number of these alternate realities, created to reflect different outcomes to different decisions. For every decision we may make, there's countless alternate realities where we make entirely different decisions, which spawn different results, and different outcomes. There are literally billions upon billions of alternate realities in existence, some of them almost identical to our own, while others are drastically different to the point where they can't even be recognized; like for example, realities where we're all griffons, or where you're Rainbow Dash's mother," he continued on.

"Rainbow Dash's mother?" Celestia asked in disbelief at the notion.

Discord ignored the question and continued on, knowing that such a discussion would simply lead them into quicksand. "Generally these realities exist independent of one another. But sometimes an event will occur that can lead to  one meeting with another; in this case the magic mirror malfunctioning during the solar flares. This is exceptionally dangerous, since Starswirl the Bearded never intended for the portal to work in such a way."

Celestia swallowed nervously at hearing this. "Can... can we find them if such is the case?"

"Eventually," Discord replied, although he refrained from elaborating on the matter further. "It won't be easy though. Alternate realities can be... temperamental to deal with. I can poke holes through alternate dimensions with ease, traveling as freely as I please. Not so much wither alternate realities. Poke too many holes too quickly without closing them back up, and..."

Discord paused as he allowed the illustration to speak for itself, that being hundreds of circles all clustered together, before they each began developing holes, one after another, before they all began to rupture and collapse in on themselves.

"Need I say more?" he asked.

"I'd rather you not," Celestia stated quickly in response.

"I thought not," Discord replied. "On top of that difficulty, there won't be any guarantee that the ponies we find in these alternate realities will be our ponies. There's going to be a myriad of minute and seemingly insignificant details that will have to be combed through in order to tell who's really whom. I'm going to warn you up front that once we start sorting through realities, we're going to come across versions of Twilight and the others that come from worlds far worse off than our own. Versions who we'll want to help, and provide sanctuary, and even keep. But we can't afford to do that. Too many of any one individual, or any number of individuals, all housed in the same reality can have drastic consequences. We're talking imbalances that scare even me," he explained.

"And the point of telling me all of this is what exactly?" Celestia asked.

"So you can be prepared for what to expect when push comes to shove, of course," Discord stated, before giving a mutter about something relating to backstory and world building.

There were so, so many things Celestia wanted to say to Discord right now, many of which were horribly unkind. But she stopped short of uttering any of them when something far more pressing caught her attention; that being the shimmering of the surface of the magic mirror. And the shimmering soon warped into a swirling pattern, looking much like a whirlpool was forming.

"Look," she said as she gestured to it with her wing, bringing Discord's attention to it as well. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. But I think something is actually attempting to force itself through the portal from the other side," Discord stated as he watched.

"Could it be them?" Celestia asked.

"Doubtful. If they were where another end of the portal exists, they'd just walk right through it. This is more like something forcing a connection between two worlds to be established when there is none," Discord explained. "And I don't have an iris to close over the portal to prevent whatever it is from coming through."

Whatever nonsense Discord was talking about, Celestia was far too distracted to actually pay any attention to it; far more preoccupied with the fact that whatever was on the other side of that forming vortex, it was forcefully entering their world. And much as she wanted to believe it to be, she knew that it wasn't Twilight who was behind this. She was one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria's history, but even she didn't have the power to be doing something like this. So it went without saying that whatever was responsible for establishing a portal all by itself -and a fully stabilized portal at that- it was even stronger than her former student.

And then the portal was breached as something stepped through into their world. But what it was, was far beyond anything she had ever imagined possible.

Standing before both her and Discord was an alicorn stallion, the likes of which she'd never seen before. Not that there had really been that many alicorn stallions, but that was beside the point.

Whoever this stranger was, he stood tall -at least as tall as she herself was- with a frame not unlike her own, though there was no regalia present on his frame.  Unlike her, his fetlocks were unshorn, although they looked well maintained. He had black hooves that looked at if they'd been polished to a high sheen, which contrasted sharply with the white fur that covered his body. His horn was equally polished, giving it a mother of pearl  sort of presentation. Both his mane and tail were a very pale platinum blond, and would've been considered white at first sight if not for the contrast against his fur and feathers. But the most outstanding physical aspect were his eyes. While his irises were a striking ice blue, the sclera that surrounded them were a deep, deep black just like the pupils.

Whoever this stranger was, he was both quite handsome, and quite beautiful. On top of having a very commanding presence that made even her feel humbled.

He then took a step forward, and promptly tripped over his own hooves, falling to the floor in an undignified heap with a thud that made her and Discord both flinch.

"Well that was unexpected," Discord commented to himself as he watched their new guest shake his head.

"A strange form, this is," the stallion said in a strong, but silky smooth voice as he looked himself over, before slowly -and quite awkwardly- climbing back onto his hooves cautiously.

It was at this point that Celestia finally cleared her throat in an effort to make herself known. "Can... can we help you?"

The stallion finally turned his attention to them, looking at her first, then at Discord with a look of absolute confusion, before looking back at her once more.

"I am seeking one of importance. Perchance of great importance," the stallion stated. "You are... whom?"

"Princess Celestia," she replied.

"Then you are the one that I am seeking. It is good to be making your acquaintance," the stallion stated.

"Likewise. Although to be making a proper acquaintance, I'd need to know what your name is in turn," Celestia stated in response.
"Of course. I offer you my apologies," the stallion, before clearing his throat and straightening up. "In my time I have been known by many names, by many titles. But I am perhaps known best by the name of Eru Ilúvatar."

"Eru Ilúvatar," Celestia repeated as she tried to get a feel for the unusual name, and and nodded in the stallion's direction. "It's nice to make your acquaintance. Although now I'm curious as to from where you hail. As well as a number of other things at the moment."
"I am sure you are. But before I explain myself, I must ask a question. Pray tell what exactly is... that... standing next to you? What sort of abomination stands before you?" the stallion asked and gestured with his head in Discord's direction.

"Abomination? Well now, it seems my reputation precedes me, even in other dimensions," Discord commented in an almost giddy fashion. "I, my friend, am Discord, resident Spirit of Chaos to this world! I'm the one who ensures things are made interesting when order gets to be too... orderish."

The stallion merely blinked once, before turning back to face Celestia again. "Is it in need of smiting?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, at least once a week," Celestia agreed and giggled.

Discord merely frowned and crossed his mismatched arms across his chest, already plotting what he'd do to get even with Celestia.

"All joking aside, Eru, I believe you have a number of questions to answer," Celestia stated as she once again grew serious.

"Eru?" the stallion repeated, a slight tilt of the head following. "I am not accustomed to being addressed in such an informal manner. But under present circumstances it is acceptable."

"That's good," Celestia replied, "now then. From where do you hail? How do you know of me? And what brings you to our world?"

"Your first question is... very difficult to answer. But I will try," Eru began as he mentally contemplated what to say next. "Where I hail from is... perhaps best described as the other side. My... dimension, universe, reality, what have you; I am the creator of it, and everything found within it."

At this both Celestia and Discord's jaws dropped, with Discord's actually meeting the crystal flooring, before bouncing back up into a closed position, only for it to hang open once again. The one they were currently addressing, was another dimension's equivalent of their own Faust! More so than even that, they had apparently taken a physical form, and crossed over the dimensional boundary to meet with them directly! And what had they done? They'd engaged in the most informal manner of address anypony could possibly imagine!

Before either of them could even begin to express their apologies, their distinguished guest was already speaking again.

"As to why I have come here. I know not the manner in which it has occurred, but I assume it was unintentional. You have lost others, correct? Seven of them? One such as yourself. One possessing a horn but no wings. Two possessing wings but no horn. Two possessing neither. And one who is far different from all the rest. They are yours, from this dimension, yes?"

Had she been sitting down, Celestia would've instantly jumped up at hearing this. "You know where they are? Are they safe? Are they hurt?" she asked, her voice bordering on frantic at this point.

"At the present moment they are unharmed. But as to safe, I fear that cannot be answered presently," Eru explained in a solemn manner and shook his head. "I know not the manner in which these seven came to be, but they have interfered in a matter that has grown immensely complicated as a result. Presently I find myself in need of your assistance, for I cannot handle this matter on my own. I ask for your help in resolving this matter before things can potentially become worse than they are now."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! Time out!" Discord objected as he made a "T" signal with his hands. "Let me see if I'm understanding this, just to make sure I don't need to send my ears in for a tuneup. You, the progenitor for all of existence in your dimension, have come here because you need our help with something?"

"That is indeed the situation," Eru affirmed and nodded.

"Huh. That's definitely a first," Discord commented, trying to decide if he should feel honored or humbled at the moment.

"Eru," Celestia spoke up as she stepped closer. "You said that Twilight and the others have gotten involved in something back in your world. Can you tell us just what's going on presently?"

"If nothing else I can at least try and do such," Eru stated. He contemplated stepping forward, but one look down at the legs of his current form discouraged him from doing such. "On one particular little world, a test of importance is unfolding. The species of Man is destined to inherit the world for itself. But in order to do such, they must actually prove themselves worthy of what they are to receive. To do such, they must remove the last vestiges of the old order from the world, to allow for the establishing of a new order. This requires completion of a certain, specific task, while facing specific perils along the way to test their dedication and worthiness of inheritance. But now I fear that such may actually not come to pass."

"Because of Twilight and the others?" Celestia asked. Eru nodded in confirmation.

"They have gotten themselves mixed up with those at the very heart of the test, unknowingly setting into motion a sequence of events that were never intended to transpire. And now that they have been set into motion, there is no way of telling where things may go from here. Every action they take leads to the possibility of even greater complications coming about," he explained, before sighing and shutting his eyes. "I do not blame them for what has occurred. They had no way of knowing what would come about, they merely wished to help those they have come to regard as friends. It is quite commendable of them," he continued.

Celestia nodded in agreement with that bit of assessment of Twilight and her friends.

"Well now, this certainly piques my interests," Discord commented. "So how exactly can we go about helping you with this situation? What's our area of expertise that makes us vital?"

"What I need is for you to bring them back to their own world, before they become anymore involved than they are currently. I cannot directly intervene in this matter myself. Even if I could, I do not believe that your friends would actually heed my pleas to refrain from further interference. Nor do I believe that I can physically remove them on my own, based upon everything that has happened so far," Eru explained.

He still had no idea how they had successfully -even if only temporarily- rendered the Balrog into stone, despite having witnessed it for himself. Whatever magic they wielded, it was considerable. It was no wonder that Sauron feared them so. But this test simply wasn't for them to undertake. And now that they had, there was no certainty of what would come to pass next.

With the knowledge that Sauron now possessed as a result of his meeting with the one named Twilight, quite literally anything could happen. She had no idea as to what she had potentially unleashed upon Middle Earth in her efforts at helping.

"I think that can be done," Celestia replied as she nodded, opting not to explain how that was exactly what they'd been trying to do all this time.

"Most excellent," Eru stated. Perhaps this test could still be salvaged yet, and disaster avoided.

With no further words he turned around, and then stopped, looking about curiously.

"This," he said as he looked at the mirror, "this is the means by which travel was achieved?"

"It is," Celestia stated as she stepped forward. "It's a portal to a specific dimension, although recent solar activity on the surface of the sun seems to have interfered with how it works, and resulted in it making contact with your world," she explained.

"Most fascinating," Eru commented, his voice tinged with genuine interest. However he knew that there was no time for discussion of such a matter; perhaps another time. With no further words he stepped forward.

He then planted his face right against the surface of the mirror, hard, and fell back in a startled manner, once more falling onto the ground.

"What?" Celestia asked a she stepped forward and placed her shod hoof against the surface of the mirror, finding out for herself that it was indeed quite solid. "The portal's closed!" she stated in both surprise and horror.

"That is not good," Eru commented as he picked himself up off the floor again. "I was certain that it would remain open."

"Have no fear, Discord is here!" Discord stated in a very triumphant -or outright boastful- manner. "When our friend here decided to break the dimensional divide, I had enough foresight to trace the portal back to its point of origin. Now that we know where to actually find them, retrieval should be a piece of cake!" he stated as he stepped forward and waved his lion's paw over the surface of the mirror to reopen the portal.

As he did this, the three of them were greeted by the sight of a single large eye, made entirely of fire with a long slit pupil, staring right back at them. And then came a booming voice, speaking in a language that neither Celestia nor Discord understood, but could tell regardless that it was full of anger.

While Celestia and Discord reacted with surprise, Eru merely glared back at the eye in the portal, before shouting right back, again in a language that they didn't understand.

This quickly descended into what amounted to a back and forth shouting match between the two participants.

"Do you have any idea what they're saying?" Celestia asked as she looked to Discord in hopes of getting some answers.

Discord shrugged in response. "Haven't a clue. Unless..." he paused as he reached behind his back and quickly withdrew a compact, flat, narrow-shaped device with a great many buttons on it, before depressing one of them. "That should do it."

Celestia had learned long ago that it was best not to question Discord too much about what he did, because the answers she would get tended to boggle the mind. But even she was curious about what he was up to this time around.

"Closed captioning," he responded to the unasked question as he looked towards the portal. But then he did a double take at what he was seeing. "Well now, this is interesting."

Wanting answers, Celestia looked forward as well, although she wasn't expecting what she was seeing. Whatever Discord had done, words were now appearing out of thin air as Eru spoke with/yelled at whoever/whatever was on the other end of the portal. Unfortunately the words were giving them no answers, as it was nothing but unintelligible nonsense.

That wasn't even hyperbole either. The words that were appeared literally said "unintelligible nonsense" in explanation of what was being said.  They were also saying "censored for the sake of young readers" and a number of other things, before even the words became incoherent. And then it was just random symbols, making it look like they were talking in some form of hieroglyphics.

The back and forth shouting match continued much as it had been playing out, until Eru finally reached his limit and needed to breathe, nearly collapsing to the floor in the process, far to winded to continue.

"Eru," Celestia spoke up as she stepped forward. "If I may ask, just who or what is that on the other side of the portal?"

"That," Eru breathed, "would be Sauron. One of the last vestiges of the old order in need of being cleared away from the world."

"I take it this "Sauron" has no interest in assisting us in your endeavors?" Celestia asked, although she already knew the answer.

Eru shook his head as he straightened back up again. "None whatsoever. As long as the old order remains, he maintains his power over the land of Mordor and all that reside there. And he is very intent on doing everything to prevent losing that. He is intent on not allowing anymore outside interference to occur in the present order of things. And being aware of what he is presently, he is doing everything in his power to prevent just that. He is presently blocking the portal from being established. We cannot travel through," he explained.

"And he actually thinks he can oppose you in this?" Celestia asked.

"It would appear such is the case. I am weak in this world; far weaker than I had assumed would be the case. My influence here is nothing compared to my own world. If I were on the other side of the portal, clearing Sauron away would be a trivial matter. But I cannot do that from here," Eru explained and sighed. "It would appear that in my efforts to set things right, I have unintentionally locked myself out, and can do nothing but watch as things unfold before us..."

At this the Eye of Sauron began speaking again. Although to them it sounded like it was actually laughing at this sudden turn of events.

Discord scowled at this, and proceeded to poke the eye right through the surface of the mirror with his lion's paw, catching it right in its slit pupil.

This in turn caused to eye to shake and shudder about, before more incoherent screaming followed in the aftermath.

"Well now, I certainly didn't foresee this coming about," Discord commented as he snapped his eagle talon, causing the blocked portal to close once again. "I'm not used to having someone actually oppose my chaos magic. This is an insult of the highest order, and I'm not going to stand for it! I'm not about to let some evil eye block our efforts at getting our friends back!"

"Dare I ask what he intends to do?" Eru asked as he looked to Celestia for answers.

"There are times when it's best not to ask such questions," Celestia replied as she stepped back, equally uncertain, and far more concerned with what Discord might be planning.

Discord ignored the both of them as his voice grew in strength and tone. "Mr. Eyeball thinks he can stop us from going in the front door? Well then we'll just go in the back door!" he practically roared as he swiped at the air with his eagle talon, causing a tear in the dimensional fabric to appear in the middle of it, and grow in size.

As it opened, however, they were once again greeted by the Eye of Sauron, staring back at them. Or rather glaring at them.

"Now listen here, sonny! If you know what's good for you, then get out of my way! You seriously don't want to test me!" Discord stated furiously.

Sauron's response sounded equally furious, but was completely unintelligible. Wanting clarification, Discord looked back at Eru.

"You... do not want to know," Eru replied flatly.

"So then he wants to do this the hard way, does he? Fine by me! You don't want to step aside? Well then forget going past you, I'm going through you!"

Discord disappeared from view, before reappearing on the other side of the room, his twisted frame twisting even more as he reconfigured himself into a large, raging bull. Hooves of solid steel, sharp horns that were black and shiny, and jets of steam exhausted from his nostrils as he snorted and bellowed. He scratched at the ground aggressively, before charging forward, head held down as he aimed his horns straight for Sauron's eye, intent on breaking through whatever obstruction they were being presented with.

Eru and Celestia both cringed as Discord impacted the surface of the portal hard; very hard. Hard enough that he practically bounced off of it, his entire body looking more akin to an accordion than anything else.

"It would seem our friend is quite intent on keeping us out," Discord commented wearily, before groaning and collapsing backwards on the floor of the palace, the portal disappearing in the process.

Celestia wanted to sigh, groan, cry, and outright scream all at the same time in response to this development. If even Discord couldn't force his way through to Eru's world, there wasn't much that they could be done by the rest of them. Even if she were to send for Luna and Cadence, and get them here right now, their combined might would still amount to nothing in this matter.

Eru sighed at witnessing all of this. "It would appear we are helpless to do anything but wait," he said as he turned to face Celestia. "I am sorry for my inability to do anything of usefulness on this matter."

Celestia shook her head. "You let us know where to find our friends, and that they're at least still alive. That's more than we had before you came here. Now it's just a matter of finding a way to actually get to them, if such exists."

"If it doesn't exist, it will after I get done with it," Discord stated as he proceeded to pick himself back up and unfold himself, back into his original form. "Everything has a weakness, everything has a way in. I refuse to believe that whatever magic this Sauron character is using to keep us out, that it's completely impenetrable."

"I would advise you not to take Sauron lightly. He is no mere conjurer of tricks, meant to wow the uninitiated. He is a formidable foe," Eru warned.

"Well then that's just fine, because neither am I," Discord stated, before turning his attention to Celestia. "I'll leave your distinguished guest to you, 'Tia, I can't do anything useful from here."

"Very well then. I'll contact you if I need you for anything," Celestia replied and nodded.

With nothing left to be said Discord took his leave, leaving both Celestia and Eru behind in the palace.

"So then," Celestia began slowly, "it looks like you're our guest for the time being while we sort this matter out."

"It would seem as such," Eru replied and nodded, recognizing that returning to his home dimension wasn't a viable option at the moment. He was more or less left to rely on the kindness of his current hosts. "Perchance might I be able to impose upon you?"

"Of course. How might I be of assistance?" Celestia asked.

"This form that I presently find myself in. I did not select this for myself. It is very foreign to me, and I am left without knowledge as to how it works. Perchance could you educate me on the matter?" Eru asked.

Celestia merely nodded in response. "Yes. I think that could be arranged."
> Hunting Prey
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hunting Prey


"There's something I don't get."

For Spike, Frodo, and Sam, their journey down river had been largely quiet the first few hours, other than the background noise of the river itself serving to remind them of where they were, and what was going on.

And now that trend was changed by Sam speaking up.

"What's that?" Spike asked as he slowed his rowing in order to better hear whatever was bothering the hobbit.

"Just how are Twilight and the others going to find us and meet up with us again?" Sam asked. That was one thing he hadn't figured out quite yet. He knew that the Alicorn was quite smart, but he really wasn't seeing how smarts would avail them in this situation.

"Oh. That's easy," Spike replied before he started rowing again. "After so many mishaps and adventures back in Equestria, Twilight finally wised up and figured out how to track the magic of my flames. Since it's used for sending and receiving messages, it's sort of like a beacon; like a bonfire in the dead of night. Once the others are located, she can just follow the signals and it'll lead them right to us," he explained.

Sam wanted to ask more, but he'd already been having enough trouble keeping up with things as it was. Adding more strain to his mind wasn't going to be doing him any favors. He opted to just continue rowing in silence. Spike was confident that they would be found by the others, and once again reunited, so that was good enough for him.

"I still do not understand. How did she do it?"

Now it was Frodo that broke the silence, bringing Sam and Spike's attention to him as he sat at the back of the boat, looking at the ring in a most perplexed fashion as it dangled on its chain in his hand.

"Rainbow Dash possessed the ring, but she was not possessed by it. So many have fallen victim to its lure since its creation, lusted after it for themselves, killed for it... yet she gave it away freely, as if it were nothing but a worthless trinket. How did she do such?" he asked without really addressing anyone.

All Spike could do was shrug as he rowed. "Rainbow Dash is pretty loyal to her friends. Maybe the ring realized she couldn't really be tricked into doing what it wanted, and it gave up on her?"

"If that were the case, wouldn't that mean her will is stronger than Sauron's?" Sam asked. The very notion was laughable, bordering on impossible. And yet he'd been there to witness the ring being returned to Frodo freely.

"That could be the case for all we know," Spike replied, uncertain of what else to say. He knew how determined Rainbow Dash could get when she really wanted something. And if she wanted her friends back more than the ring, Sauron had no hold over her. He might have far greater magic than Rainbow Dash, but magic alone only went so far. He'd learn the hard way that he was facing somepony whose determination was incorruptible. From the other side a terror to behold. Annihilation-

He stopped his thought process when he realized that some music he'd heard on the other side of the mirror were starting to bleed through. If he kept that up much longer, he'd break out into song. Not that some singing wouldn't be good for lifting up their spirits, but he didn't know if it'd be appropriate right now.

Besides which, he didn't know all the words; some had simply been too jumbled to understand.

"She's a pretty stubborn pony. I don't think even Sauron could match her there," he added.

"And what of you? How were you unaffected by the ring when you touched it?" Frodo asked him.

"Huh," Spike replied, not sure of that himself. "Maybe it's because, out of everyone that touched it, I'm the only one who actually tried to destroy it without thinking about it. Which I'd try again if given the chance. Maybe it got scared by the experience," he explained. After a pause, he decided to elaborate. "A dragon's stomach is probably the most hostile, inhospitable environment one could ever find themselves in; worse than even Mordor. In addition to being like a blast furnace, we've got digestive acids strong enough to melt diamonds, and they're probably the hardest thing in existence. If I could've kept it down longer, we might not be in this mess."

"Should we try again?" Sam asked. If they didn't have to go to Mordor, he'd try anything.

"Maybe. But not now. If I cough it up again, better on dry land than in the middle of a river where we'll never find it," Spike stated. Even if they couldn't find it, someone, or something, might...



The Uruks that had taken Merry, Pippin, and Fluttershy hostage had left Amon Hen well behind, moving in a westward direction until the forests had thinned out, eventually coming to a region known as the Wold that was made of open plains, occasionally dotted by clusters of rocks and boulders. The Wold was part of the eastern half of the Mannish Kingdom of Rohan.

Of all the Uruks that had originally attacked the Fellowship, only forty had survived. That number would've been sixty, had it not been for the tenacity of their captured quarry. Three hours they had spent trying to properly apprehend them, only to be thwarted time and time again, as more of their forces were slowly whittled down. Had it not been for their superior design, they might never have caught them.

The survivors had only stopped once since Amon Hen, and it was so they could better secure their three captives for the travel to Isengard. They bound the Hobbits' wrists, and Fluttershy's fore hooves and wings with rope, allowing them to carry the hobbits in a rough piggyback fashion. Once that had been tended to, they were off once again.

Despite being roughly the same size of a hobbit -at least by some measurements- they had found out the hard way that Fluttershy was considerably more difficult to transport in this particular manner. Initial efforts at piggybacking her had resuled in nearly losing another member of their group, him nearly being strangled as she hung limply on his back, and the rope pulling tightly against his throat. That had required a reevaluation of how the proceed.

The large Uruk that had drawn the short straw in carrying her, had been the same one to finally get hold of her at Amon Hen. He'd found it necessary to practically throw her over his shoulder for transport, holding onto her with one arm, and rear her hooves hitting him in the back with each rough movement made.

Aside from binding them for transport, they had also removed any weapons the three still had on their person.

For Merry and Pippin, this meant their personal gifts from Galadriel. The Lady of Light had given each of them an ancient Elven or 'Noldor' dagger carried in an intricate sheath. Fluttershy had no weapons to speak of, but they had easily found her trinket from Galadriel that she had still in her possession.

Having no knowledge of Elven artifacts, they were unsure what was the purpose of this strange relic, if it was either just a worthless trinket, or if it has Elvish magic contained within the jewel. When it came to Elves, one could never really tell one way or another. Not knowing what else to do, they agreed to bring it to Saruman in the hope he would give them an extra reward on top of the one he would surely give them for their hostages.

Lurtz had been killed before he could tell those under his command that the Fellowship contained four halflings and six ponies. And while some had certainly known that they didn't have the full sets, the exact ratio of possessed to unpossessed was currently unknown.

With the death of Lurtz, the command of the Uruks had passed to the only other Uruk-Hai that Saruman had bothered to name. This Uruk-Hai's name was 'Ugluk'. Ugluk was about Lurtz's height, with deep grey skin and black splotches. His hair was dirty blond and white in color. He was currently in the front of the company as it ran across the Wold's plains.

It was morning currently, four days since their battle with the Fellowship. As they approached a group of boulders, Ugluk raised his fist to bring the company to a halt. At this signal, a group of ten Mordor orcs crawled out from behind the boulders.

When he allied himself to Sauron, Saruman received from the Dark Lord the dubious 'gift' of several hundred Mordor orcs. Through his spies, Sauron had found out about the force of Uruk-Hai sent to attack the Fellowship the day after they had left the Orthanc. Communicating to Saruman through the palantir, Sauron 'requested' that some of the Mordor orcs join the Uruk-Hai in their mission.

Saruman had obeyed Sauron, only because he did not yet have the power to openly defy him. But he just followed the letter of Sauron's order by sending only a few Mordor orcs with orders to lay in wait for the Uruk-hai as they returned from Amon Hen. Their role would be to 'assist' the Uruks bring the hostages he wanted back to Orthanc. Being so close to getting what he dearly wanted, Saruman was not going to simply hand it over to Sauron at the last moment.

Most of the Uruks openly sneered at the sight of the Mordor orcs. It was no secret that, as far as the Uruk-Hai of Saruman were concerned, their Mordor brethren were a lesser breed of species - not having the Uruk's strength, or their sunlight tolerance.

Mordor Orcs, in return believed, the Uruk-Hai to be a disgusting abomination to the whole race that the Free Peoples feared throughout the ages.

The mutual contempt and animosity between the both of their breeds, was underscored in the conversation they started.

"You're late," Grishnakh, the Mordor Orcs' leader, scolded the Uruks. He was distinguished from the rest of his ilk by his ugly white eyes, and similar colored hair that clung to a bald patch on his on his brown skinned head. "Our master grows impatient," he continued. "He wants the Shire rats now."

By 'he', Grishnakh meant Sauron. The Dark Lord had secretly instructed the orcs he sent to Isengard to bring him any hobbits that Saruman displayed an interest in. Unlike Saruman, Sauron did not care if the hobbits were 'spoiled' in captivity; he could care less about their wellbeing. As long as the One Ring was returned to him, nothing else truly mattered. Entire villages, and platoons of Uruk-Hai could be decimated for all that was cared.

"I don't take orders from Orc maggots," Ugluk growled back. Total obedience to Saruman was inherent in every Uruk's very being. "Saruman will have his prize. We will deliver them. Sauron is free to whatever is left over."

While Ugluk and Grishnakh expressed their mutual contempt for one another, Fluttershy quickly checked up on her two friends, finding their well being to be far more important than disputes pertaining to orcish parentage and ancestry.

Pippin was whimpering on the back of one Uruk to her left, in discomfort from rubbing against the rough armor during their charge across the plains. To her immediate right, Merry was on the back of another, a large gash on his forehead, and was seemingly unconscious.

Fluttershy glanced at Pippin, wondering if it was worth it to risk the ire of their captors and call out to him. She knew the Uruks would probably not hesitate to hurt them at the slightest opportunity, for she had witnessed their love of battle, and sadistic grins each time they landed a blow on their victims. The slimy beasts actually seemed to get off on it - even their own pain. She'd seen various Uruks pull out arrows and blades from their bodies and lick the points, seemingly relishing their own blood. It was all very horrifying -and revolting- to consider.

On the other hoof though, despite all of what she and her friends had done in their efforts at resisting capture, they really hadn't been particularly hurt yet - except for herself, who had acquired a nasty bruise during the battle - which rather suggested the sadistic, twisted monsters were actually under strict orders not to unnecessarily harm them. Fluttershy remembered what one of the Uruk-Hai had shouted just as he commanded his warriors to attack them: 'alive and unspoiled'. Surely that applied to the lot of them, right?

If so, she figured there was pretty much nothing they could lose, and so she called Pippin's name quietly, hoping to capture his attention even over the din of the thumping of armored feet, and the rattle of rusty breastplates.

Luckily, he heard her on her first attempt, and looked immediately relieved at the sight of her smiling bravely at him. Fluttershy had to marvel at the hobbit's remarkably childlike attitudes at times; if a simple smile could reassure him at this point, she rather thought he must have truly been a handful when he was little.

"Hey," she said in a low voice, careful to stay as discreet as possible. "Are you alright, Pippin?"

Pippin nodded, although fear crept back into his eyes.

"Yes," he answered just as quietly, "but Merry's passed out, and I can't wake him. I think he's hurt."

Fluttershy had seen Merry crack open an eye a couple of times, and felt sure he was merely feigning unconsciousness, so she quietly reassured his cousin, and instead asked if he knew anything about their captors.

"Only what we overhead Twilight saying at the secret council," he whispered, remembering her recollection about Saruman's efforts of creating an unbeatable army. "I think they're supposed to take us to Isengard."

Fluttershy frowned in confusion. Isengard? She'd heard that name before - it was the name of that white wizard's homes, Saruman. In Rivendell she'd been confused at first, for the names of both the wizard and the Dark Lord Sauron often sounded very similar when spoken by the people of Middle-Earth. It wasn't until Twilight explained the differences that she'd made the distinguishment.

Still, Isengard boded nothing good, and she felt what little hope remained in her heart - that the others would somehow save them - fade slightly; their companions would never risk going too close to Isengard - it was full to the brim with Orcs and Uruk-hai, not to mention a very powerful wizard turned evil. Aragorn would never risk Frodo and the Ring's safety in that way, for sure.

She began to ask Pippin another question, but a passing Uruk snapped at her.

"Quiet!" it growled. "No talking, or I'll have your guts for bootlaces!"

Fluttershy nodded fearfully at him, knowing he would make good on his threat. If not now, then certainly after Saruman had whatever he wanted of them.

She knew she could point that fact out to them. She could ask the Uruk if his threat would be had before or after Saruman did the same to him in response for his disobedience. She could even point out that none of them were wearing boots. But despite that fact, she simply couldn't muster the courage to actually speak up in response.

"Oy! I'd be careful with that one if I were you. She killed a cave troll all by herself!" Pippin objected before he could think better of what he was doing.

This, in turn, caused several Uruk to look at him in disbelief, before laughing in response.

"This little one? She killed a cave troll? Impossible!" one of them barked, finding the idea completely absurd.

"Well you don't have to take my word for it! Just ask those goblins you're talking to; they were there, they saw it!" Pippin stated, too nervous to actually shut himself up.

At hearing this, Grishnakh sneered angrily. "You dare to compare us to lowly Goblins?" he asked, appalled and infuriated at such an insult being lobbed to freely. "We are Orcs, halfling!"

"Well what can I say? Orcs, goblins, you all look alike to us Hobbits," Pippin responded and chuckled nervously.

This caused more of the Uruk-Hai to laugh in response at Grishnakh's displeasure. Which in turn served to anger the Orc even further, and motivate him to stomp over and try to assault Pippin for such an insult.

However his efforts were stopped as one of the Uruk-Hai stepped in front of him, and easily shoved him backwards, sending him crashing against the large stone before falling to the ground, much to the amusement of the rest of the Uruks present.

"This isn't over," Grishnakh grumbled as he climbed back to his feet, and made his way back to the rest of the Orcs. This disrespect would be addressed, but not right now.

Throughout the entire demonstration, Fluttershy remained silent as best she could, all the while making observations about both Orc and Uruk alike.

But those observations, and what they entailed would have to wait. For now there were more important matters to tend to. And with that fact in mind she tapped at the back of the Uruk she was being carried by.

"Excuse me. Sir. Could our friend possibly have something to drink? He's been out for quite some time. A-and being dehydrated when we arrive at Saruman's might go against his orders," she stated as best she could, hoping that pointing out Merry's poor condition would earn them some water.

Unfortunately it wasn't water that was given.

All she could do was give a cry of disgusted anger when one of the Uruks forced a vile black liquid down an unconscious Merry's throat. She regretted it as soon as they heard and turned their ugly heads towards her - she thought they would make her drink it too, or perhaps hurt the Hobbits - but they just gargled their black laughter and tossed the filthy gourd back to its owner.

Suddenly, a Uruk began sniffing the air.

"What is it?" Ugluk quickly asked. "What do you smell?"

"Man-flesh," the Uruk replied, "and ponies."

Fluttershy's eyes widened in hope at this. Others in the Fellowship had to be coming to their rescue. As the Uruk said 'Man', Fluttershy secretly hoped that the entirety of her friends were still alive. Given how Ugluk previously threatened her, she knew it wasn't a good idea to press her luck any further by calling for help. But maybe she could leave a clue behind that would lead the Fellowship to their friends?

As if reading her mind, she witnessed as Pippin began removing the leaf brooch that was around his Galadhrim cloak with his teeth.

"They've picked up our trail!" Ugluk cursed. "Let's move!"

At Ugluk's words, both the Uruk-Hai and Mordor Orcs started running towards the Orthanc. Pippin finally had loosened the brooch and spat it on the ground. She was relieved that none of the orcs had noticed his action, or the brooch as they ran over it. Pippin exchanged glances with Fluttershy, who gave him a quick smile.

"Hang in there," Fluttershy encouraged as she tried to get comfortable on the Uruk's shoulder. "I think the cavalry's coming..."



Hours into their journey, Aragorn and the others had eventually met up with Legolas, Gimli, and Pinkie, largely thanks to Rainbow Dash running reconnaissance high in the air, and relaying their position to them; in all of the greenery of the forest, Pinkie had stuck out quite easily. But there had been no sign of Fluttershy and the others as far as she could see.

No sign, other than the trail of twenty or so dead Uruk-Hai that they had been passing before catching up with the others. Some had been killed with their own crude swords, others looked like their skulls had been caved in, and still bearing what looked like horseshoe-shaped indentations in their foreheads. What exactly had transpired was a mystery, but it was evident that Fluttershy and the Hobbits had mounted a considerable resistance to being captured for as long as they could.

They had reunited with one another, shared accounts of what had been going on, and what they had intended to do after that fact. From there they'd headed out in what they believed to be the most likely course taken.

Currently, Aragorn laid at the top of a small rocky hill. He closed his eyes as he placed his ear to the ground. The orcs' movement clearly echoed through the earth.

"Their pace has quickened," Aragorn commented to Twilight who stood next to him.

"Then they likely know that we're in pursuit of them," Twilight quietly agreed in reply.

"They must have caught our scent on the wind," Aragorn surmised as he got up off the ground. He then turned to the nine Fellowship members standing further down the slope. "Hurry!"

Legolas, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash rushed to join the pair, leaving Rarity, Applejack, Boromir and Gimli in their wake.

Still standing, Gimli puffed raggedly. "Three days' and nights' pursuit. Little rest, no food, and little sign of our quarry, but what bare rock can tell."

Having been in the company of the Fellowship for so long, Rarity considered their options for how to keep Gimli motivated to continue onward, despite the obvious exhaustion he was experiencing. She knew fell well that the body could only do so much before it simply couldn't carry on much longer, as her own was close to that point already. She didn't want to be mean to the Dwarf, but she knew she had to give him a little poke in the right direction.

"You know, Gimli," Rarity observed in a deadpan manner. "I don't hear Legolas and the others complaining about those things."

"I didn't say I was giving up lass!" Gimli stated indignantly. "If they can keep pace, then so can I!"

"The Elf is maintaining his silence simply to spite the rest of us," Boromir muttered to his traveling companions.

"Ah wouldn' put it past 'em," Applejack muttered in turn. Legolas not being able to freely bicker with Gimli as they had, it would make sense that they'd find new ways of taking jabs at one another.

Like the Uruk-Hai who attacked them, the nine hunters had long left the forests around Amon Hen behind. As they ran in a westerly direction, Twilight felt the Fellowship was moving on a downward slope. The Wold's plains would make it easier to track the fiends that had captured Merry, Pippin, and Fluttershy. Still, she found this pursuit among the hardest she had ever been part of. Despite being an Alicorn, she wasn't properly experienced in her Earth Pony magic, and as such didn't have the same stamina as Applejack and Pinkie.

Before the Fellowship began pursuit of the Uruks, Rainbow Dash quietly suggested to Twilight the pair of them commence on their own through flight, levitation, and even teleportation if need be, just as they had before. Both possessed the speed to easily run down the Uruks - not to mention the strength to completely annihilate the lot of them if a simple snatch and grab wasn't possible.

Twilight had replied that she didn't think it wise dividing the Fellowship any further. The events at Amon Hen had shaken her out of any complacency about the threat posed by Saruman's forces. Apart from the three captives, the Fellowship separating into search parties had almost cost Boromir's life. The thought caused her to glance back at the injured Gondorian running behind her as best he could.

Rainbow Dash had, begrudgingly, agreed with her assessment of the situation, as well as agreeing to remain with the others, even if it slowed them down considerably.

Gimli was right about there being little rest, however. Mostly because of Boromir and Applejack's injuries, Aragorn allowed the Fellowship to rest at night for two or three hours at most. Food had technically been available, but seeing as how a small bite of lembas was considered a 'meal' over four days, there was certainly justification to the Dwarf's complaints. The only other time that the Fellowship rested was when Aragorn stopped to examine for further evidence of the Uruk's trail, which was right now.

There was also, technically, the brief periods when they would utilize short-range teleportation to increase their traveled distance. It was only fifty to a hundred feet at any given time, but it was still fifty to a hundred feet that they didn't have to travel on foot, hoof, wing, and whatever other appendage was used in giving them locomotion.

Overall, it was a slight exaggeration of facts.

Not being allowed to venture on ahead, Rainbow Dash had opted to hang back and stay with Boromir, Applejack, and Gimli, who ran at a slower pace for different but obvious reasons. Whereas Gimli might've been better off going with Spike, Frodo, and Sam for the reason that Spike had pointed out, Applejack's speed was hampered by her injured leg. Spike's medicine might've healed the damage incurred, but the underlying muscle structure was still pretty bruised all the way down to the bone. Unfortunately their current predicament meant there was little that could be done about it. Applejack would simply have to tough it out as best she could.

Rainbow Dash thought that Boromir shouldn't come with them out of worry for his injuries, even if they had healed up. But the Gondorian insisted that he was well enough to join the Fellowship in their hunt for the others. She inwardly vowed to look after the injured Boromir as best she could, even if she had to carry him. If any Orc wanted to harm Boromir, this time around they would have to go through her first.

She'd also been the one to come up with the notion that the four of them were protecting the rear as the others scouted ahead, in an effort to boost their morale, and assuage their pride somewhat. They all knew it was nothing but a blatant lie, but it still sounded good to them as they chugged along as best they could.

Aragorn reached the group of boulders that possessed a foul, orc-like odor that was evident to the ponies in the group, whose sense of smell was far more developed than that of the others. He immediately caught sight of the brooch that Pippin had dropped on the ground, and bent down and picked it up before he rested it in the palm of his right hand.

"Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall," he remarked to both Twilight and Legolas.

"They're leaving us a trail," Twilight spelt out the corollary. Just like she'd been doing for Celestia in the hopes of them being found.

"They may yet be alive," Legolas said with rising hope.

"There's no "may" to it, they're definitely alive!" Rainbow Dash protested fiercely as their two groups finally caught up. Her ears had picked up the mutterings of the Elf before they saw the sight of the brooch Aragorn currently held. She absolutely refused to believe anything else to be the truth. And if it was the truth, then so help her, she was going to do things to the lot of Sauron's forces that even he would come to fear.

"At least we're on the right track," Rarity responded to the sight of the brooch.

"More than that," Aragorn advised. "Our friends are less than a day ahead of us. Come!"

At Aragorn's command, the eight of them recommenced their run. As they began running, they all heard a loud crash come from behind. All but Aragorn turned to see the noise was the result of Gimli stumbling.

"Come on, Gimli," Pinkie Pie encouraged him. "We're gaining on them!"

"I am wasted on cross-country," Gimli panted. "We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances!"

"Ah'll race ya over the next hundred yards, Gimli!" Applejack teased playfully in an effort to keep the Dwarf motivated to continue onward, even though she wasn't fairing all that much better herself.

Gimli's frustration at being shown up in endurance by the Earth Pony was evident in his reply. "For your sake, lass, you'd better be well in front of me at the end of that race!"

Through determination and outright stubbornness, Fellowship Team Alpha -Twilight's unofficial designation for their group- had eventually came to rest atop a group of low-lying rocky hilltops that gently sloped into a vast, yellow coloured grassland that stretched westwards as far as the eye could see.

"Rohan," Aragorn described the lands that faced the Fellowship. "Home of the Horse-Lords".

Horse-Lords. Twilight didn't want to admit it, but the name gave her a sense of homesickness, making her miss Celestia and the others all the more. What she wouldn't give to see the sight of another Alicorn right now.

Unfortunately that wouldn't be the case. And she knew, based on her own research, the name carried a far different meaning here in Middle Earth, than it might elsewhere; a meaning that brought her decidedly less comfort.

"Are Rohan's people nomads?" she questioned Aragorn to see if her concerns might be justified.

Aragorn shook his head in response. "No, Twilight. Despite the love they have for their steeds, the Rohirrim reside in farmlands, wooden settlements. The largest is their crown city, Edoras, several days westward from here."

At least there was that as far as Twilight was concerned. She honestly hadn't been looking forward to the possibility of her other friends being captured in this region. She didn't have sufficient money to buy them back peacefully, and she was in no mood to cause any international/interdimensional incidents that might come about as a result of a misunderstanding.

"What reception can we expect these Rohirrim to give us?" Rarity asked.

"Gondor and Rohan have been allies for over five hundred years," the Son of the Steward advised the Bearer of Generosity. "I've no doubt they'll aid us greatly if we ask."

Twilight was pleased when it was Boromir who answered Rarity's question. If the Gondorian was able to speak at length, it was a good sign that he was recovering from his wounds.

Aragorn drew the Fellowship's attention to the task at hand.

"There is something strange at work here," he warily sensed. "Some evil gives speed to these creatures, sets its will against us."

"They're fueled by Sauron's black magic. We're not dealing with natural creatures here," Twilight pointed out, recalling the lengthy details she'd gathered from Saruman during their time in Isengard.

Legolas had moved to the front of the Fellowship as he perched himself on a boulder.

"Legolas!" Aragorn called our to his Elven friend. "What do your Elf-eyes see?"

After a pause, Legolas replied, "The Uruks turn north west. What we have feared is indeed true! They are taking our friends to Isengard!"

"And to Saruman by extension," Aragorn muttered grimly.

"Saruman more than likely knows a Hobbit within the Fellowship bears the Ring," Twilight accurately assessed. "But not which one."

"That makes sense," Gimli agreed. "But I cannot think why the traitor would want Fluttershy, or why he had his Uruk-Hai try to capture you girls."

"Probably because of how badly Twilight and I curb stomped them when we went to Isengard on our own," Rainbow Dash muttered, feeling her anger rising greatly at the thought of just what he had in mind for them. If Fluttershy was hurt by him in any way, he would rue the day he decided to aid Sauron in his efforts.

But then something far more sinister came to her mind. If Saruman had ordered them captured in response to what he'd seen them do during their initial meeting...

"Bastard!" she cursed furiously.

The others heard this and looked at the rainbow-maned Pegasus in surprise. Even Twilight couldn't remember her speaking as such, except on rare occasions.

Seeing she had drawn their attention, Rainbow Dash bluntly took the initiative to speak. "Look. I'm just guessing here, but I'm thinking Saruman might be wanting to upgrade his Uruk-Hai, based on whatever information he can get from us. I dominated one all by myself right in front of him, and Fluttershy killed that cave troll with one blow. So... what sort of results would Saruman get if he had one of us to study at length?"

"By Elbereth!" Legolas gasped in horror upon thinking the ramifications.

"We'd better catch those Uruks soon. Or they'll be the least of Saruman's forces we'll have to worry about," Twilight stated, her mind reeling at the prospect of just what sort of horrors that the white wizard could concoct next. "Let's move out!" she yelled as she dashed off, intent on leading the Fellowship onward by herself if necessary.

Gimli, who had barely been able to catch his breath by this point, quickly found himself being hoisted up on Pinkie's back, as if she'd suddenly just appeared behind him out of this air.

"Ack! what... what's going on here?" he asked.

"You can race Applejack later, we've gotta get moving now!" was all Pinkie had to say on the matter. Gimli couldn't realistically keep up with them, so she'd rectify that matter herself. Besides which, she and Gimli both had rock-related backgrounds. They had to stick together.

As Pinkie broke into a gallop to keep up with the others, Gimli gave a triumphant laugh, while simultaneously holding on for dear life.



For three days and three nights, Fluttershy and her two friends had been hostages to the Uruk-Hai, helpless to do anything as they crossed country to be delivered to Saruman for whatever purposes he'd had in mind.

Helpless, that is, except for paying attention to their captors, and looking for any opportunity that could potentially be exploited.

Such an opportunity arose on the fourth night of their journey, as the company of Orcs and Uruks fell into a disagreement about the pace they we keeping, and insisting that they weren't going any further in their journey until after they'd had a chance to stop and catch their breath. From there it had just been a matter of waiting until the complaints about maggoty bread being all they had to eat, before the perfect moment presented itself to her.

"If you roast the bread over a campfire, the heat will drive the maggots right out of it," she spoke up from where she currently laid on the ground, her and the Hobbits being dropped unceremoniously during the rest break.

This caused a number of the Orcs from both groups to look at her in response. It was enough to make her flinch and wish to hide behind her hair, but she knew that she couldn't do that. She had to remain strong, and stand firm, for the sake of her friends.

"Although if you steamed it over a pan of boiling water, it would be softer and easier to eat," she added.

"You know how to cook?" one of the Uruk asked her with genuine curiosity.

"Oh, quite a bit actually," she replied and eagerly nodded, hoping that this was the opportunity that they needed. "If you'd like, I could go about preparing you all something that would be far more tasty than old bread. I know about some of the indigenous plants, which I could probably blend together in a nice vegetable stew."

The Uruk-Hai weren't animals in the traditional sense that Fluttershy was used to dealing with. But that didn't change what her senses were currently telling her. And with three days of exhaustion to contend with, and the prospect of being provided good food, she could see that it was slowly beginning to wear away at their dedication to the mission Saruman had tasked them with. Slowly but surely, it was wearing down their resistance, and making them more agreeable to what was being presented.

"We don't have time for cooking a meal!" Grishnakh protested angrily.

Fluttershy frowned in response, sensing that she'd have to present a bolder front to maintain control of the situation. "If you have time for building a fire, then you certainly have time for cooking a basic meal," she stated. For that, the scrawny Orc had no immediate retort to offer up. She assumed that meant the ball was still in her court. "If I had some help, we could be done far quicker, as well as eating much sooner," she explained.

She knew that it was a long shot to be presenting such a concept to them. But still, all forms of life appreciated and enjoyed good food. And she wasn't being overly forceful in her approach to convincing them. She was just offering up little suggestions, little offerings of help. She might not have chaos magic like Discord, or the ability to make somepony do something they didn't want to do. But she did have her own unique talents and skill set that sufficed her in a number of situations.

As she watched, as she listened and observed them, they were slowly talking amongst themselves in gruff but hushed tones, speaking in a language she didn't understand, but it sounded similar to what Gandalf had said during the council with Elrond. Whatever was being said, though, she could tell from body language that it was a very intense discussion.

Finally, some of them turned back to look at her.

"You get your help, we get our food?" one of them asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," she stated readily and nodded in agreement.

More discussion between them, just as intense as it was before. These Orcs weren't animals, but she could still tell that the temptation was very strong with them. Strong enough that the resolve to blindly follow saruman's orders was beginning to falter; not significantly, but perhaps just enough.

"What kind of help do you need?" they eventually asked.

The halfway point had just been reached. Now it was time to see if things would pan out. She took a steadying breath, before proceeding onward in an all or nothing fashion.

"Resource and supply gathering. I know a few of the local plants, but those might not be available in sufficient quantities. If I'm going to feed all of you, I need access to everything readily edible in the immediate area. That means I need Merry and Pippin's skills in identifying what plants are good for eating, and what aren't. I'll also need some of you to transport back whatever they find that they can't carry on their own. We'll also need water, and lots of it for the purpose of boiling for the stew. Lacking proper cookware, some of you will need to use your breastplates and helmets in place of cooking pots and buckets for transport and boiling purposes," she stated, laying out precisely what would be needed and expected if they were going to get anywhere.

"Now wait jus' a minute there!"

And then Grishnakh interrupted furiously and stormed his way over to where she and her friends were currently perched.

"You think we're letting you go, just because you're promising us food? How stupid do you think we are?"

Fluttershy frowned in response, once against sensing that she'd need to present a strong front in order to deal with Grishnakh , before he managed to ruin everything.

"They're not being let go, they're going to be within Orc custody the entire time, even escorted wherever they go as they gather what I'll need for making this stew. Escape is hardly likely, considering the fact that it's nighttime, and there are so many of you and so few of us. Even if we could see to make a break for it, we'd be caught in no time at all. And once we were caught, I'm certain it would be very bad for us, orders from Saruman or not. Trying to escape would serve no purpose for us, and just wind up making the situation worse for the lot of us," she explained, listing the numerous reasons as to why Grishnakh's concerns were completely unfounded.

"Now then. Are you going to help, or are you just going to complain? We have a lot of work to do, and if you want to actually eat tonight, I'd suggest making  yourself useful. You can start with making us some torches so we can actually see what we're doing."



"That it. I can't go any further."

The spirit of Fellowship Team Alpha was running strong, as strong as it ever had since they became joined by unlikely events. But the flesh was another matter entirely.

For three days and nights they'd been keeping up pursuit with the Uruk-hai party, in a desperate bid to save their friends before Saruman could get his wicked hands on them, and commit who knew what sort of blasphemous acts against nature in the process. And in that pursuit they'd largely forsaken rest, food, and pretty much everything else that was necessary for maintaining health. They'd been driven forward by desperation and adrenaline, concluding that they'd rest once everyone was united again.

But that resolve was weakening greatly as their pursuit dragged on. The hour was late, the light was all but gone, the forest was thick and unwelcoming, and their pace had dropped significantly.

It had been Rainbow Dash who finally made the declaration, having ceased travel by flight quite some time ago, and had been reduced to trotting along with the others due to her wings no longer being able to keep pace. She hadn't wanted to admit to being unable to keep going, but it had been necessary. Applejack, Boromir, Rarity, and Gimli weren't doing much better than she was, but she knew their pride wouldn't allow them to be the first to speak up about their inability to keep going. That left her to be the bigger pony and demonstrate weakness first for their own benefit. Otherwise she was pretty sure one of them would be dropping dead soon, and she'd much rather avoid that. So she plopped her flanks down on the ground, refusing to move another step even if she had the steam to do so.

"I need to rest," she added.

"Rest is not a luxury that we have," Boromir commented, doing his best to not sound just as fatigued as his blue traveling companion. But the tones of his words betrayed him, easily revealing that he was quite exhausted, and barely able to remain on his feet.

"It's not a luxury. It's a necessity," Rainbow Dash clarified.

Rarity's contribution to the discussion of needs versus luxuries amounted to collapsing on the ground where she stood, far too weary to even protest how dirty her coat was becoming in the process. Not that it had been particularly clean after three straight days of pursuit, but still.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to concur," Twilight stated. For three days and night now, they've been in near-constant pursuit of their quarry, desperate to get their friends back safe and sound. For three days and nights, racing after a force that was driven on and fueled by Sauron's black magic, while they themselves were propelled by nothing but their own determination.

But determination could only go so far.

"Catching up to them won't do us any good if we have no strength to fight. Even if we could get in front of them in the next five minutes, We'll be killed and captured in short order as we are now. We need to rest, and we need to recoup our strength," she explained as she sat herself down on the ground. "I want to catch up to them as much as anyone. But we'll be of no use to them if none of us even have enough strength to sewing a sword."

More voices of agreement sounded throughout Fellowship Team Alpha, weariness becoming more apparent with each passing moment. It quickly became apparent to those that had no desire to sit idly by, that they were outnumbered in this discussion. That left either resting where they currently were with the others, or venturing on ahead as their group divided even further.

"Very well then," Aragorn relented, "ten minutes."

"One hour, no less," Twilight countered, "this isn't up for debate."

Boromir wouldn't admit to it willingly, but he was amused to no end at Aragorn being overruled by a pony. Not merely overruled, but she was actually going into detail as to why one hour was the minimum amount of time that they should be allowed to rest before heading out again.

By the time Aragorn had finally relented, and heeded to her insistence for an hour's rest, he'd found it necessary to bite his cheek relatively hard to keep from laughing out loud.

"Your friend is quite the skilled negotiator," he barely managed to get out without actually succumbing to laughter.

"Well she did learn from the best," Rarity mumbled in agreement.

Lemnas bread was broke out, and small fire was lit, the process greatly expedited with the assistance of Twilight's magic, as the group settled in for a breather. It was only as they sat down, did any of them realize just how fatigued and hungry they really were.

"What I wouldn't give for a hot cup of coffee right now," Twilight muttered as she observed the fire and idly chewed on a piece of elven bread.

"Yeah, I could get behind that myself," Rainbow Dash agreed. "So then. What's the game plan, once we get moving again?"

"We catch up to the Uruk-Hai, rescue the others, and then make our way for Mordor once again," Gimli grumbled in summation of what they were facing.

"Yeah. That part I know about. I meant how we're gonna go about doing that. It seems to me that we're doing an awful lot of running around just for that," Rainbow Dash pointed out. "They way things are going, Frodo and the others are going to have a week's head start on us. It's gonna be pretty hard to catch up with them, even with Twilight teleporting us."

"Do you have something different in mind?" Legolas asked, doing his best to not let his own discomfort with the idea of teleportation show through his calm exterior.

"Sort of. I've been thinking about this off and on ever since we left. But I'd need Twilight's help to pull it off," Rainbow Dash explained.

"Go on," Twilight said as she turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, curious to see what her friend might have in mind.

"Alright. Just hear me out," Rainbow Dash started as she prepared to go over her plan. All the while hoping she didn't get interrupted as she laid it out. "It's like this. You and I are the only real fliers in the group right now. You and I set out via flight, teleportation, or whatever, and catch up with the Uruk-Hai. Then you use the Breezie spell to turn the two of us into dragons for the engagement. We tear through their ranks with claws, fire, and arrow-proof scales, laying waste to everything that isn't the others. Then we grab our friends, make our way back here, and set off for Mordor before Spike and the others can get any further away from us, just like we planned!"

"That..." Twilight paused, "is actually a brilliant idea, Rainbow Dash. There's just one problem with that."

"Which is?" Rarity asked, wondering what her friend might've missed when laying out her strategy for the rescue.

"That we don't actually have Spike here with us. The spell needs a base to work from for transforming a pony into another species. Without that it's pretty much useless," Twilight stated.

Rainbow Dash just groaned at this. "Can't you, I don't know, just guess at what you're doing?"

Twilight shook her head. "It doesn't work that way, Rainbow Dash. The spell can't be made to work from nothing. I know this because I've tried it before."

"Oh..." Rainbow Dash replied slowly, defeat finally winning out in the matter. "So I guess transforming yourself into a Balrog is out then?"

Twilight nodded. "Even if we had a Balrog, I'm not sure transforming myself into a demon would be the best of ideas to try out."

At this the only thing Rainbow Dash could do was shrug in response. "It was worth a try."

"It was a darn good idea. Jus' lousy timin' is all," Applejack reassured her.

Rainbow Dash just grunted in response. "Fluttershy, I hope you're alright," she thought to herself. If she'd lost her friend, she didn't know what she'd do.



"I can't see a thing; not even my hand in front of my face," Merry whispered.

Whether it was through pure dumb luck, divine intervention, or simply Fluttershy's unique talents, the trio had managed to slip away from the Uruk-Hai, undetected by the brutes as they focused on more pressing matters at the moment.

Neither Merry nor Pippin had believed what they'd witnessed from the time of Fluttershy offering to make the brutish orcs a meal. It had to be one of the craziest things witnessed. But despite that fact, things had apparently transpired just as they had. Apparently the offer of fresh food had been so alluring, so overwhelming, they simply hadn't been able to resist. It was as if their appetite had consumed all common sense on the matter, leaving them reduced to the point of relenting when Fluttershy had insisted that they be allowed to assist in finding various edible ingredients to make sure there was plenty of food to go around.

Then came the cooking. Sweet mercy the cooking! Neither of them had any clue just how Fluttershy had pulled it off, but she'd actually gotten some of the Uruk-Hai to prepare and cook the meal as well, using breastplates and helmets for cooking pots as they chopped up the various ingredients for blending into pots and pots of simmering stew.

From there it had just been a matter of time, waiting as the stew cooked until it was satisfactory to the intended masses, before the trio made their move. Slowly, silently, they made their way far away from the voracious eaters, inching their way out of their sight.

What followed next had been anything but expected. The sound of thundering hooves echoed in the distance according to Fluttershy and her pony ears; far too many hooves to be their friends coming to their rescue. Too many hooves, and too many arrows as the Uruk-Hai were ambushed by someone or something unseen in the darkness. From there it'd been their cue to retreat as fast as possible, not wanting to get caught in the middle of whatever had been unfolding in front of them.

That led them to where they were currently, trying to find their way through the darkness of the woods, while simultaneously trying not to make any commotion that would lead to them being found.

"Just keep moving. So long as the fires are to our backs, we've got to be heading in the right direction," Pippin insisted as he kept a hold of Merry's shirt sleeve, while also holding onto Fluttershy's tail to try and avoid any of them being separated from one another in the darkness.

"There's no telling what could be behind us," Merry pointed out as he stumbled along, unsure of either his footing or their destination. "This isn't like procuring a few vegetables from a farmer's field, you know."

"All the more reason to be quiet," Pippin hissed.

"We need to get up higher. Off the ground," Fluttershy whispered as she led them further on, not particularly caring where they went, just so long as it was somewhere safe. "Quickly. Up this tree."

It was a fairly tall tree that she stopped again; tall enough to hopefully discourage anything from looking for them. They could hide within the canopy, possibly resting some as they did, and then gather their bearings in the morning.

She stood at the base of the tree, letting Pippin climb up her back first as he made his way up the tree, before allowing Pippin to do the same. Her wings were still bound, as there had yet to be an opportunity for them to be untied during their escape, so that meant having to climb and shimmy her way up the tree much as the others had done.  But she was certain that she could easily do such.

"Alright. Come on up," Merry called.

Nodding, Fluttershy stood up on her hind legs, wrapping her forelegs around the trunk of the tree to climb up after them.

Before she even got two feet off the ground, however, she felt her hind leg being roughly grabbed, causing her to scream in surprise as she turned to see what had a hold of her.

As best she could tell, it was Grishnakh, and he didn't look the least bit happy. How he'd managed to track them down in the darkness was of less concern right now, than the spear he currently held in his other hand.

"You thought you were so smart, huh? Let's see how smart you are when I put a maggot-hole in your belly!" he stated as he raised his spear.

His follow through, however, was hampered by Fluttershy kicking him in the face with her free hind leg, disorienting him. She then quickly followed up with several more such applications, before his hold on her was finally broken.

"You're going to regret that!" Grishnakh stated as he cradled his face, and felt that his nose had been broken in the scuffle. "Tell me where the others are, and I might make your suffering less!"

The next thing he knew, he found himself being roughly grabbed from behind, and squeezed about his neck as it became more difficult to breathe freely. He tried to pry loose from whatever had a hold of him, but was finding that it was easier said than done. Whoever currently had him was significantly stronger than he'd thought. That, coupled with the lack of air he was getting, made escape far more difficult than it should've been. The fact that it was getting darker didn't help matters either...

Merry and Pippin watched, eyes wide with surprise as Fluttershy went about choking the orc out, demonstrating a level of viciousness that'd only been hinted at in their encounter with the cave troll. And she continued choking him, until his body finally went limp. Whether she'd killed him, or simply rendered him unconscious, neither was really sure. As little care as she'd shown when she let his body drop to the ground, it could easily be either.

Not that either one of them was going to protest the rough treatment he'd been given, however. Certainly not after he'd made it known that he considered them to be disposable and edible.

"Are you alright, Fluttershy?" Merry asked uneasily, almost afraid of what answer he might get.

Fluttershy looked up at them, panting heavily, and looking weary. Whether it was from physical exertion, or something else, neither one of them knew for certain. All they really knew was that as she looked up at them, her eyes went wide, and she proceeded to scream loudly.
> Acquaintances New and Old
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Acquaintances New and Old


Three days. That was the amount of time that Spike, Frodo, and Sam had spent trekking their way through the razor-sharp hills of Emyn Muil, after having left their boat by the shore. And in three days time they had finally reached the top of a particular hill, that oversaw an ominous, dark, fiery light that was painfully visible even from a great distance such as this.

Their destination, the mountain of fire in the land of Mordor, awaited them with all the friendliness of an executioner.

"Mordor," Sam stated breathlessly, "the one place in Middle-Earth we don't want to see any closer. And it's the one place in the world we're trying to get to. It's just where we can't get."

Sam then turned to face Frodo and added, "Let's face it, Mr. Frodo, we're lost."

"It sure looks that way," Spike replied in agreement. "We need to get there, but we can't exactly do that if we can't find our way through all this mess."

"Well," said Sam, "... I don't think Gandalf meant for us to come this way, Spike."

"... He didn't mean for a lot of things to happen Sam," interjected Frodo, "... but they did regardless."

Despite their best efforts at keeping their spirits up, remembering those that had fallen had done a number on those efforts. So much for team morale.

"Yeah? Well even though he's not here, Gandalf probably wouldn't want us giving up on this. Heck, he'd probably kick us in the butt if he heard us talking like this. And that's to say nothing of the scolding that Twilight would be giving us right now," Spike pointed out. "We're gonna get to Mordor, eventually. One way or another. We don't really have much choice in the matter; we need to get to Mount Doom and put an end to all this. Otherwise Gandalf died for nothing," he added.

They'd already learned the hard way, for a second time now, that he simply couldn't keep the ring down long enough to let his own stomach do the work. He'd tried valiantly at holding it in, but his efforts had ultimately been for naught, as the ring was going to have none of that, and simply forced its way back up and out, both violently and painfully.

"Let's just keep moving. We need to go and put Sauron in his place; make him suffer for all he's done to us," he added.

"... Yeah, Spike, you're right," Sam agreed, his spirit rising again.

Frodo looked at Spike with a determined look in his eye. "Thank you for your speech of confidence, Spike," he said, smiling.

However his smile didn't last for long. Looking towards the mountain of fire once again, he both felt and saw the Eye of Sauron, zooming in on him, in a flash!

AAACKKK!

Frodo gasped and backed away, panting. Everyone gasped at Frodo's dilemma, and Spike rushed towards him as he fell into his short arms.

"Frodo," Spike said, voice heavy with concern, "are you okay?"

Frodo continued to pant heavily. Sam gave a worried look at Frodo.

"Frodo?" he asked, "...it's the Ring, isn't it?"

"It's getting heavier," replied Frodo as he went on panting, clutching the Ring in his hand.

"Just hold on Frodo," interjected Spike, "we'll destroy the Ring soon enough."

Frodo slowly and weakly nodded at him as he sat down and fumbled for his animal skin flask to take a sip of water.

Seeing this just served to remind Spike of how hungry he was. He could try and abate that hunger by chewing on some of the rocks in the area, but they really didn't taste all that good. They had a long way to go before he was willing to sit down and do that, although the constant hollow gnawing at his stomach was doing its best to get him to that point.

"What sort of wild beast was that just now?" Sam asked at hearing the growling.

"I guess that'd be my stomach. I'm starving over here," Spike admitted.

Frodo couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Spike's plight. "What food have we got left, Sam?"

"Well, let me see," Sam said as he took off his backpack and set it down to look inside of it. "Oh yes, lovely... Lembas bread," he said as he dug through their supplies, "and look. More Lembas bread," he added sarcastically as he presented the leaf-wrapped goods that were presently available to them.

"Don't knock it. You didn't taste the rocks in the area," Spike pointed out.

Sam had no retort for that. Given the option, the Lembas bread sounded like the better of the two. Shrugging, he broke off a few pieces and tossed them over to Frodo and Spike, before munching on a piece for himself.

"Thanks, Sam," Spike said as he bit into the bread, thankful that they had it on hand.

"I don't usually hold with foreign food," said Sam, swallowing his piece down, "but this Elvish stuff, it's not bad."

"Nothing ever dampens your spirits, does it Sam?" inquired Frodo as he smiled.

"It's probably for the best that it doesn't," added Spike, finishing of his Lembas before wiping his claws free of crumbs. "If Sam ever lost his positive outlook on the situation, then that'd be a pretty dark day for Middle Earth indeed."

Out of the three of them, Sam had remained probably the most optimistic about their plight. And if anyone asked him, he'd rather not see it any other way. Seeing Sam succumb to despair, would be like seeing Pinkie succumb to sadness and revert back to Pinkamena status. He really didn't want to see that again, regardless of who it was.

Frodo smiled even brighter at the baby dragon's comment. Sam smiled back at Frodo and Spike. Although the smile wasn't long to last, as they observed what was currently on the horizon and approaching.

"I don't know about my spirits, but those rain clouds coming in might be dampening quite a bit of things," Sam pointed out. "We'd best get moving while we still can."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Spike replied. Trapped between water and fire, what a predicament. Oh well, onward to Mordor!

The three travelers continued trekking through difficult terrain, often huddling underneath their cloaks when it rained, to keep themselves dry so that they wouldn't catch cold. Even though Spike knew Twilight would point out that being caught in the rain didn't actually cause someone to get sick. Regardless of that fact, though, the path of Emyn Muil became endless each time they trekked, going on for days and days.

When they reached a particular spot, Sam looked around like he knew where they are.

"This looks strangely familiar," Sam mentioned.

Frodo did know this particular place as well. "... Its because we've been here before," he said, exasperated. "We're going in circles."

"I'd say it's more like a giant maze than just a circle," Spike pointed out.

"I know, Spike," Frodo agreed.

"Ah! What's that 'orrid stink?" gasped Sam, getting Frodo and Spike's attention, "I'll warrant there's a nasty bog nearby... can any of you smell it?"

A few moments passed. "Yes," Frodo answered as he came up beside Sam, "... I can smell it."

"The winds must've shifted. We never smelt that before," Spike commented.

"Worse yet. We're not alone here," Frodo stated as he turned to look at them. "Something is following us..."

"Maybe it's Twilight and the rest? Maybe they found the others and they're finally catching up with us?" Spike asked hopefully. He'd expected their two groups to reunite days ago, just hours after their journey had started. But so far that simply hasn't happened yet. So the prospect of them not being alone here had him hoping for the best.

Frodo shook his head in response. "I do not believe that to be the case, Spike. If it were our friends, they would be letting us know of their presence. But what is following us, is trying not to be discovered. It is sneaking about in a shifty manner."

"Is it that Gollum thing?" Sam asked.

"I fear that may be the case, Sam," Frodo replied.

"Huh," Spike muttered, wondering how such could be since the bridge down in the mines of Moria had collapsed with Gollum on the other side. How he'd crossed the chasm was a mystery. But it was a mystery that could wait until later; right now they had more important things to do. "Well then, if we're going to have guests, let's get ready. I've got an idea."




Aragorn may have allowed himself and his companions a few more hours of precious sleep if he'd known what had befallen Ugluk's company.

That not being the case, however, Fellowship Team Alpha had maintained the schedule it had lived by over the last few days. Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Legolas kept watch overnight until their companions roused at dawn. Aragorn's first order of business was checking Applejack and Boromir's wounds. The good news was the healing that resulted from the medicine given to Spike was holding up quite well, and showing no signs of coming undone by the strenuous workout they'd been subjected to.

"You two are quite fortunate," an upbeat Aragorn told the Gondorian and earth pony. "Although when this is all over, you may have trouble showing off your battle scars to others. As it is, they are proving quite difficult to see."

"Ah reckon we'll have plenty ta show off before all is said an' done," Applejack commented in response.

"I fear you're right, Applejack," Rarity replied, "but we won't make it easy for them. Whatever scars we may gather, our enemies will have far worse to contend with,"

All present smiled at Rarity's statement, with one exception. Legolas's attention was presently on the eastern skies, too focused on it to focus on the banter of the Fellowship.

"A red sun rises," he commented to no one in particular.

Twilight had compared Legolas to an early warning radar spell often used in less developed regions of Equestria, where the weather wasn't overseen by pegasi. But like all radars, the Elf was sometimes hard to read.

" I'm sorry, Legolas, but I'm not following. What does a red sun have to do with anything?" she asked.

Legolas turned to his companions and spoke in an ominous tone. "I fear much blood has been spilt this past night."

To say that Legolas's observation had caused more than a few jitters among their group would be a severe understatement. There was the natural urge to panic, and assume he meant that the blood of their friends had been spilt, even though they had no actual evidence to verify the claim with.

From there it had more or less just become one big blur as they trekked along at a more frantic pace, desperate to find out the truth, and hope against all hope that their friends were still alright.

They didn't come to their first stop of the day for quite some time, when they stumbled upon a large assortment of tracks in the ground, which Aragorn knelt down to examine.

The whole Fellowship's attention was turned south at the sound of a horse's whinny. Aragorn stopped examining tracks, and walked to join the rest of the Fellowship to observe a dust cloud heading their way from the same direction. Legolas relayed what his Elven eyes saw through the dust cloud.

"A hundred heavily armoured horsemen head in our direction," he reported. "But not because they've seen us."

"Rohirrim?" Rarity both guessed and concluded.

"Yes, Rarity," Boromir answered. "Servants of Sauron don't use horses this far west of Mordor. And Saruman would only use horses as fodder for his orcs."

Before Twilight could ask what mounts the enemies of the Free People used, she instead learned the Rohirrim went by another name.

"The Eorlingas may have no love for the enemy," Aragorn remarked. "But they also do not lightly suffer incursions into their lands - even by supposed friends."

At a quick signal of Aragorn's, the group hurried and hid behind a small clump of boulders just to their right. As the Rohirrim and their steeds rode past them unaware, the Fellowship felt the ground vibrate beneath them. They smelt the horses' sweaty odor and heard the clatter made by their rider's armor and weapons. Once the last of the Rohirrim had rode past the Fellowship, Aragorn moved out from behind the boulders into plain sight.

"What are you doing, Aragorn?!" Twilight asked in a harsh, concerned whisper.

"Do not be alarmed, Twilight," Legolas assured her. "Aragorn merely wishes to speak with the Horse-lords, not engage them in battle."

"None of you reach for your weapons until they know we can be trusted," Boromir added hastily.

Twilight thought there must be some strange codes of conduct in Middle-earth as Aragorn cried out to the Rohirrim at the top of his voice.

"Riders of Rohan! What news from the Mark?"

The rider at the front of the Rohirrim's formation, obviously their leader, raised his spear with his right arm. At this signal, the Rohirrim turned sharply to their left in a manner that reminded Twilight of a school of fish. She noticed the riders had weapons and armor of varying quality, and guessed the Rohirrim was like the armies of Earth Pony, Pegasus and Unicorns during ancient times, before the Princesses established their rule on Equestria. Ponies spent part of the year in the military service as duty to their lord, or lady, who gave them land to reside on.

Usually these ponies had to pay for their own equipment, unlike having them paid for by the Crown. In practical terms, at least in terms of equipment, this usually meant a conscripted peasant was more likely to die on the battlefield than a wealthy knight was, but there were always exceptions to that rule. That said, the way these Rohirrim precisely maneuvered into an ever-tightening circle around the Fellowship indicated they were still a well-trained unit. They eventually surrounded the Fellowship in a tight mass. Rainbow Dash shared a glance with Twilight, muscles tensed in anticipation.

"This isn't good," Rainbow Dash whispered to Twilight's ear from behind. "What's our plan if push comes to shove?"

"Bright lights to temporarily blind them, then I'll quickly teleport their weapons away," Twilight quietly replied. "But only if they start attacking, it would be best if we try to set up diplomatic relations with the Rohirrim first."

Rainbow Dash merely grunted in response.

The leader of these Rohirrim moved through their compact ranks until none stood between him and Twilight, Rarity, Gimli and Aragorn who faced him. Rarity noted the leader had what appeared to be well made scale armor, with it being covered by a thick leather pad across his broad chest. The helmet he wore had what appeared to be a long plume of what she could only assume was gold horse hair that fell down the back of his neck, as well as its nose-guard being crafted in the shape of a horse's head.

The Equestrians' education continued as they learned how the Rohirrim commonly referred to their homeland.

"What business does an Elf, a Dwarf, Men and strangely colored ponies with wings and horns have in the Riddermark?" the leader sharply asked the Fellowship.

Boromir was standing behind Aragorn, partially hidden from the leader's line of sight. At the leader's first words, Boromir immediately knew which Rohirrim was speaking to the Fellowship, and quickly moved out into the open.

"Third Marshal Eomer, do you remember me?" he addressed the leader. "It is I, Lord Boromir."

The Rohirrim began murmuring to each other when they realized they were in the presence of the Son of the Steward of Gondor.

Eomer, son of Eomund was the high ranking Third Marshal of the Riddermark. He was also the nephew and adopted son of Theoden, the current King of Rohan. Inwardly, Eomer cursed himself for not recognizing the Captain-General of Rohan's most important ally.

Eomer first met Boromir when he spent a summer in Gondor just before entering into manhood. He had accompanied his cousin Theodred, the only child and heir of Theoden. Boromir selflessly took Eomer and Theodred under his wing during their visit as well as being a good military mentor. The summer stay in Gondor by the pair of Rohirrim royalty was a diplomatic gesture to help stop the widening rift in relations between Theoden and Denethor.

On that basis, the visit was a failure. While Rohan and Gondor were still technically allies, their rulers were barely on speaking terms for a number of reasons. Boromir, Theodred and Eomer had privately confirmed to each other through their mutual commitment to the Oath of Eorl during the latter two's stay in Gondor. No matter the animosity between their fathers, his uncle in Eomer's case, they would always try to assist each other in their respective country's struggles.

Eomer handed his spear to a subordinate to his right before he dismount off his trusted steed, Firefoot. He walked up to Boromir and took off his helmet before both men gave each other a short but sincerely felt bow. The Equestrians saw that Eomer was perhaps not much more than half an inch taller than Boromir. The Third Marshal had dirty blond shoulder length hair as well as a similar coloured short beard that clung to his face.

Eomer gave a resolute sounding apology. "Please forgive me for not recognizing you at first, Lord Boromir."

Boromir then made an apology of his own. "On behalf of my friends and I, we ask your pardon for entering the Mark without so much as the King's leave."

This side of Boromir that she had not seen before fascinated Rainbow Dash. One of the main reasons the pair had become friends was because they were both loyal, action-speaks-louder-than-words individuals. Plus there was the matter of how the ring had affected the both of them.

Yet here was Boromir, demonstrating that he was well versed in the diplomatic arts. In times of peace, saluting and respectfully speaking to each other was generally considered a sufficient display of etiquette between soldiers of Equestria and her allies, based on what she knew of history. But here in Middle-Earth things seemed more complex, where Eomer and Boromir had to exchange a series of gallant pleasantries before getting down to business.

It sort of reminded her of a fancy courtship ritual unfolding.

"Milord, of course you're welcome," Eomer said before casting his eye over the other Fellowship members, especially the Ponies in the group. "Though I must say, your choice of traveling companions is interesting, to say the least."

"Our Fellowship may be an interesting collection of representatives of the Free Peoples," Boromir advised. "But you have my word they are as much a friend to Rohan as I myself."

"I meant no offense, milord," Eomer quickly reassured Boromir. "I'm nonetheless curious as to why you wear an Elven cloak."

Of the Fellowship present, only Rarity and Rainbow Dash weren't wearing their said cloaks. Raritys' bloody cloak was discarded at Amon Hen after Aragorn had used it to staunch Boromir's bleeding, as well as Applejack's own. She hadn't even hesitated before offering it up upon seeing their condition, even going so far as to rip it in two herself. Rainbow Dash had offered her unused Galadhrim cloak as a replacement at seeing this, but she had politely declined the offer, idly commenting that it didn't really go with her fur. And with her fur as stained as it was, it would be a shame to soil yet another fine cloak when it didn't need to be.

"Our Fellowship left Lothlorien just over a week ago," Boromir informed Eomer. "Our cloaks are a gift from the Lady who rules it with her Lord."

Eomer's eyes narrowed after what Boromir had said.

"Then there is a Lady in the Golden Wood, as old tales tell!" Eomer calmly exclaimed before commenting, "You must've had no choice but to enter it and risk the Lady's attentions, and her dark, sorcerous ways."

It was at this point in time, for the first time in centuries, a Dawrf actually spoke to defend the honor of a member of Elven royalty.

"You speak the words of fools, Lord Eomer," Gimli told him in an insulting and patronizing manner. "You speak evil of that which is fair beyond the reach of your thought, and only little wit can excuse you."

Eomer's eyes blazed at the insult. He firmly stepped towards Gimli.

"If you were not accompanying Lord Boromir, Dwarf," the Third Marshal coldly threatened him. "I would cut off your head off, if it stood but a little higher from the ground."

That was the breaking point for a good portion of Fellowship Team Alpha. At hearing one of their own being threatened, Rainbow Dash and Applejack didn't hesitate before taking an offensive posture, beaten only by Legolas' speed as he readied an arrow.

"Ah don' care who ya are! Ya don' go an' threaten our friends right in front of us!" Applejack stated angrily.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash snapped. "You try it, and I'll deck you so hard, your head's gonna go flying right off your neck!"

"I'll be doing even worse than that!" Pinkie practically bellowed, figuring she'd have to make use of her hooves rather than her sling in this situation.

Pointing his arrow at Eomer with his bow, Legolas quickly added to the barrage of threats. "You would die before your stroke fell!"

This wasn't how Twilight wanted to broach the subject. Not at all. She'd wanted peaceful interactions between their two groups, but that wasn't the case anymore. Many of the Rohirrim, understandably, reacted with surprise at being confronted by talking ponies. And the threats of violence hadn't helped matters either. Both she and Rarity were painfully annoyed at their friends who, despite-knowing better, opted to inflame a tense situation. Not to mention disregarding Boromir's earlier advice about them not raising their weapons in such a hostile and preemptive manner.

"Alright, that's more than enough. Everyone stand down, all of you!" she commanded loudly.

Legolas slowly lowered his bow, just as Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie allowed themselves to relax. Such was the power of Twilight's voice when she decided to take charge, just as she had done at Elrond's council; even some of the Rohirrim who had raised their weapons in Eomer's defence involuntarily lowered theirs as well. Inwardly, Aragorn thanked Twilight for her actions, before joining in on the negotiations.

"I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn," he introduced himself before others in the Fellowship was unfamiliar with. "This is Gimli, son of Gloin and Legolas of the Woodland Realm."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, Fourth Princess of the land of Equestria and Co-leader of the Fellowship, as per orders of Gandalf the Grey. These are my friends, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie," Twilight said as she made her own round of introductions to the present Rohirrim.

"As Boromir said," Aragorn resumed, "all of us are friends of Rohan and of Theoden, your king."

Boromir firmly nodded to Eomer as if to verify his companions identities and intent. The looks the Fellowship was receiving was similar to the one they, with the exception of Gandalf, gave the Mane Six at their first introduction.

"By your leave, milord?" interrupted Eomer's second-in-command.

"Of course, Captain Eothain," Eomer politely answered his subordinate and friend.

Eothain was slightly older and shorter than Eomer and wore a helmet with a nose-guard visor that covered just his eyes. His straw-coloured hair was of a greater length than the Third Marshal's was.

"Like you, milord," Eothain prefaced his argument, "I welcome the Son of the Steward to the Mark as if he were one of the Eorlingas." Eothain then continued, "But with agents of the White Hand everywhere, should we extend the same welcome to his Lordship's companions? May it not be wiser if we first take them into custody for questioning before deciding if we should trust them? Especially as five of them claim to come from a land that I suspect none of us have ever heard of!"

A number of the Rohirrim murmured their assent to what Eothain had just said. Rainbow Dash, however, furrowed her brow and growled in response. She might've gained a greater sense of humility ever since she'd met Twilight, and undergone a number of adventures with the rest of their friends, but that had done little to quell the volcanic temper that she possessed, that usually got her into trouble when she acted without thinking.

"First off, I really don't appreciate what you're insinuating, buddy," Rainbow Dash pointed out as she addressed Eomer directly. "Second, you'd have a hard time even catching us if we didn't want to cooperate. Third, if we were working for Saruman, do you think we'd tell you anything, even if you questioned us? And fourth, Twilight did battle with Saruman, and just about killed him! Let that sink in before you go questioning our trustworthiness."

Aragorn, Boromir, Twilight and Rarity all either sighed, or rolled their eyes in exasperation. The egos of their friends threatened to destroy what chance the Fellowship had of securing aid from Eomer diplomatically.

Rather than chastise Rainbow Dash for a second time, Twilight decided to speak to Eomer instead.

"Lord Eomer, I deeply apologize for our group's frayed tempers. We've been without rest for going on four straight days now," Twilight politely began. "If you let us explain why we've entered Rohan, you'll see we're no threat to your people or king."

Eomer stared at the strange, brightly coloured pony. He agreed with Eothain that the Rohirrim ought to be suspicious of any intruders, especially with the growing threat of Isengard. Despite Boromir vouching for his companions, and the fact that Boromir's great integrity was almost legendary, he had told Eomer that he and his companions had just come from Lothlorien. As the Lady who ruled it was supposedly a great wielder of magic, who could tell if she had cast a similar spell on Boromir as Saruman had currently cast on Theoden?

On the other hand, the way this 'Twilight' ordered her companions to stand down was the voice of a leader not a spy. Further, she'd apologized for their behavior, and had been nothing but respectful. All of that ultimately culminated with him deciding to give Twilight the benefit of the doubt. For now at least.

"I'm afraid Theoden no longer recognizes friend from foe, Princess Twilight." Eomer said before regretfully adding, "not even his own kin."

"What do you mean, milord?" asked Aragorn.

"Saruman has poisoned the mind of the king, and claimed lordship over these lands," Eomer said plainly. "My eored is part of the twenty hundred that remain loyal to Rohan. And for that, we are banished."

Almost immediately, Eomer's news about Theoden's mind got Rarity thinking about Queen Chrysalis's control over Shining Armor's mind during the Royal Wedding. But rather than point this fact out, the Unicorn more wanted clarity about this new term she'd never heard before.

"Eored?" she asked in a whispered tone to Legolas, choosing to focus more on what she could, rather than taking a course of action that might cause a panic..

"It is what the Rohirrim call a company of their cavalry," Legolas similarly answered.

Troubled by what Eomer had just said, Boromir spoke up. "What position does your cousin Prince Theodred take on all this?"

At Boromir's question, the Fellowship noticed that an awkward silence had come over Eomer and his men.

"Theodred was gravely wounded by an orc ambush at the Fords of the Isen," Eomer sadly informed. "I last saw him in Edoras where he was clinging to life. If you want to know the strength of Saruman's sorcery, the king didn't even acknowledge news of his son's injuries when my sister and I told him."

"Yours is sorrowful and troubling news, milord," Aragorn stated.

Eomer gave Aragorn a nod of appreciation for his sympathetic remark. His voice then hardened as he continued speaking.

"The White Wizard is cunning," he said to Aragorn and Boromir. "He walks here and there, they say, as an old man, hooded and cloaked." Eomer then gave Legolas, Rainbow Dash and Applejack a suspicious glance before adding, "and everywhere his spies slip past our nets."

"We are not spies," Aragorn quickly denied to prevent any tempers from flaring. "We track a party of Uruk-hai westward across the plain. They've taken three of our friends captive."

"They are a yellow Pegasus and two Hobbits," Boromir detailed further.

"The hobbits would be small," Aragorn explained, taking a small step towards Eomer. "Only children to your eyes."

"The yellow Pegasus looks like me, but, you know, more yellow and pink," Rainbow Dash quickly added. "Have you seen any sign of them?"

Eomer rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, his near-permanent scowl deepening. Twilight seriously hoped that she was misinterpreting the look of guilt that flashed across his features just now.

"We came across the uruk-hai last night." he finally admitted. "They are destroyed, we slaughtered them as ruthlessly as they did our people."

The five Ponies went pale, exchanging a glance full of sudden fear. Legolas' words from earlier were ringing through Twilight's head: A red sky in the morning. Blood had indeed been spilled that night.

"But there were two hobbits!" Gimli exclaimed. "Did you see two hobbits?"

"And Fluttershy?" Applejack asked desperately.

Eomer paused, bit his lip and shook his head in sorrow and regret.

"We left none alive," he confessed. "We piled the carcasses high and burned them."

A slight moan escaped Twilight's lips, hers being the only vocal response that could actually be made out. Everypony else was just too stunned to respond in light of this news.

The Third Marshall bowed his head. Somehow, Twilight knew that there was no other gesture he could have made to express his regret. But there was a deep, cold crevice tearing through her heart right then. Fluttershy... the hobbits... They couldn't be gone. It was impossible, the hobbits were always so talkative, so hungry, so... there.

And Fluttershy. Never except there ,and then had Twilight considered the potential loss of her friend, one of her best friends. And now she was facing the very real possibility that Fluttershy could be dead. Fluttershy was a constant, a rock that helped keep them all together whenever she and the rest of her friends had disputes with each other. Always there to provide the group comfort, even in the darkest of times, much like Pinkie but in her own right. she and the rest of her friends had always survived obstacles together and alive, didn't they? Their accomplishments were proof of that!

But still, even she knew that eventually their luck would have to run out. The more adventures they went on, the better their odds become of one of them not coming back at some point. What if this was that time?

Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash, who was still more or less petrified, her eyes were glassy and empty. She didn't think she'd ever seen her so devoid of emotion and life. Touching her fore hoof gently, she tried to catch her gaze, but when Rainbow Dash looked down at her all she saw was shock. She sighed gently. Good. That meant the pain hadn't settled in yet. Better grieve once they were sure that their companions were indeed gone, and not suffer needlessly.

A voice in her head was screaming at her to turn around and face it: Fluttershy and the hobbits were gone, they were dead. Why curse herself with pointless hope when she knew that in all probability, Fluttershy and the hobbits were out there, lifeless, surrounded by stinking, charred uruk corpses?

Eomer was talking again. He held the reins of a horse in his hand, and besides him three other Rohirrim came up, each guiding a mount.

"These are Hasufel, Arod, Laeto and Brindel. May these horses bear you to your friends, be they dead or alive, and bring you better fortune than their former masters."

The Rohirrim handed a set of reins to Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir. This entire time, Twilight had been too preoccupied by trying to keep the peace between their two groups, to actually study the horses. How powerfully built these soldiers were, how tall they sat on their horses. She heaved a deep breath, and barely heard Eomer as he bid them farewell.

The leader of the Rohirrim mounted his own horse and swerved it around effortlessly to face the nine hunters once more.

"Look for your friends, but do not trust to hope." He kicked his mount forward. "It has forsaken these lands."

He turned and addressed his company.

"We ride North!" Eomer shouted, kick-starting his horse, and galloping at the head of his company, the horsetail streaming from his golden-crested helmet. The remains of Fellowship Team Alpha watched in silence as the Rohirrim rode away on the plains they had just run across.

Surprisingly, Rainbow Dash was the first to move. All signs of petrified shock had left her, and she began walking towards the rising smoke that was the Uruk camp. She was thinner than she had been when they left Rivendell, and the strain of the marathon-esque journey since Amon-Hen showed in the lines around her eyes, but her gaze was piercing now, alight with the steely flames of determination, and her movements were just as strong and brusque as they had been during this quest. Her gaze bore at her companions as she turned to look at them, some of whom were looking at her in wonder, well, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were. Legolas just seemed mildly impressed, for an elf.

"YOU!"

The yell had been so sudden and so fierce, it had first been assumed that Twilight had delivered it herself. But it had actually been Rainbow Dash who delivered it, with enough force that it caused several of them to jump at being addressed.

"Get on those mounts, NOW! Fluttershy and the others aren't dead, until we actually find their charred bones in that pile! Move out, or I'm gonna leave you behind! If I have to, I'm gonna tear through all those corpses by myself until I find out the truth!"

With that said, Rainbow Dash unfurled her wings and took off, not even bothering to wait for a response.

"... Good gracious!" Rarity stated once she found her voice again. "I understand why she's upset, but I don't believe I've ever seen Rainbow Dash so ferocious before."

"I have," Pinkie replied, "once. It was one of the scariest things I've ever seen before in my life."

"I don't think her being alone right now is a good idea," Twilight muttered, before addressing the rest of them. "I'll go on ahead after her. The rest of you... well you'd best follow so we're all on the same page of knowing what's going on. Applejack, you're in charge in my absence."

With that said she quickly departed much like Rainbow Dash had, first extending her wings fully, before encasing herself in magic, and levitating herself in the direction her friend had gone.

"Huh. Didn' see that comin'," Applejack muttered, before deciding to address the rest of the present group. "Well. Ya heard Twilight. Let's get movin' an'... find out what' happened last night..."

Aragorn merely looked at the ponies with his silvery gaze in response. Despite their limited interaction with one another, there were times when Applejack thought those eyes were far too old and wise to belong to the ranger. He was only, what, forty? Forty-five maybe, going by what little she knew? But sometimes he would come up with something to say, or look at Merry or Pippin in such a manner that seemed to say "I've lived so long that I've forgotten what it's like to think and act young."

This was one of those times. The ranger locked gazes with them for a few seconds each, and the ponies saw that he considered this sudden development in their quest as something of a fool's errand. Not that he would begrudge them the final stages of their search for their loved one, but it was clear in his wise old eyes that to him, hope was simply in vain.

Legolas noticed his friend's sadness, and bracingly grasped his shoulder.

"Do not let your heart give in to despair yet, Estel," he told him in Sindarin. "The Valar have their ways, and it may be they have a few surprises for us the rest of the way. We must not grieve before we know for sure."

Aragorn sighed.

"Ai, mellon-nin. It is so long since I have felt this... this despair. What can I do if I cannot keep my small company safe? Heir of Isildur I may be, but I have now failed twice: I failed to stay at Frodo's side till the end, and I could not keep what remained of our fellowship together. Tell me, Legolas, what hope is there when we are told that our captured friends have either been abused of by their uruk abductors, or slaughtered by mistake by our potential allies?"

Legolas clasped Aragorn's arm. It was an ancient gesture; one that his kin used in the ancient and splendid days of Doriath, and still used to this day. It was a gesture of friendship, support and good faith.

"I see the hope that is before me," he answered. "The Eldar did not name you Hope for nothing, Estel. Elrond has the gift of foresight, and saw great things for you. You know this."

"But at what cost?" the ranger said, shaking his head. "Hope I am called, but even as I walk this land, its people are saying Hope is gone. Eomer himself said it had forsaken his country."

The elf smiled.

"Ah, what is this?" he teased. "It could not be self-pity, surely? I thought the Dunedain were above such things, my friend. Or mayhaps it is guilt. You must be feeling guilty because you were not there to guide and protect Frodo on his quest. Or that you were not available to jump on the uruk leader's ugly armor, and snatch our friends back. Or even that you cannot sprout wings and have us fly to their rescue in time."

Aragorn scowled and Legolas laughed.

"Why are ellyn so annoying?"

"Why are Dunedain so dour?" the elf retorted.

"Because we do not have the elvish propensity to make a joke or song of everything."

"That is indeed a shame. If you did, maybe the people of Eriador and Arnor would talk to you instead of about you."

They bickered for another few minutes as Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and Boromir mounted their respective horses, while Applejack and the others took up their own positions, ready to follow on along.

Wordlessly, for now that the banter had died down, and they all increasingly felt the writhing of anxiety, excitement and volatile hope in the pit of their stomachs, the nine companions head north and cantered towards what could either be the deepest grief, or the greatest of reliefs.




Fluttershy screamed.

The tree was moving! And it had eyes. Big, yellow, blinking eyes. The tree gave a huge groan that sounded like something between a sigh, and a huff of exasperation. Merry was frozen in shock, which thankfully meant that his grip on his branch was sufficiently vice-like to keep him steady. Pippin, however, was not so lucky.

The hobbit whimpered, tripped backwards and yelled as he tumbled freely towards the very hard and very low down ground. His cry was cut off as the tree suddenly lunged and caught him, then shifted entirely and somehow managed to uproot an entire limb - his equivalent of a leg - and squashed the body of the orc into mash before Fluttershy could so much as let out a single squeak.

The petrified Fluttershy managed a small shriek as the tree swooped down and easily plucked her from the ground, shifting them all so that he ended up with the two hobbits in one leafy hand, and her in the other. Fluttershy was squashed uncomfortably by the tough-as-steel branches, and she gasped in both pain and growing alarm. The branches encircling her constricted even her breathing space, but the hobbits had it much worse; the tree was glowering at them as though they were the orcs, not the slimy, gooey mass of blue-gray flesh that now littered the forest ground. His glare was so ferocious - even for a tree - that Fluttershy simply couldn't help but speak up.

"Uh, Mister Tree... Lord, erm...Plant. Please, we don't mean you any harm. That orc was chasing us, we just thought... Um, look, please don't hurt us!"

Not the most eloquent plea she'd ever made in her life, but then this was a tree she was talking to.

The tree's owlish eyes turned to Fluttershy, blinking slowly, then creased into what was quite recognizably a frown.

"Burraroom-arrumh." he growled, and for a moment Fluttershy was worried they weren't speaking the same language. "Little Orc," it finally said, in a voice that was as deep as the roots of his kin, the sort that didn't actually move. Something about the way he formed his words sounded as though he hadn't spoken for a long, long time, and she had a feeling this was one heck of an old tree; possibly even older than Princess Celestia herself. "I have never seen the likes of some of you before, but nothing good ever comes along with orcs."

His wording was slow, and the pauses between each of the words would, had she been with the captured group, have driven Rainbow Dash nearly insane with impatience, and insistence that the tree get to the point it was trying to make.

Fluttershy's eyes glistened slightly with tears at the implied insult, but Merry looked like Hearth's Warming had come early. Pippin's eyes were nearly as wide as their new captor's.

"It's talking," he stuttered, "the tree is talking, Merry."

"Tree?! I am no tree!" the not-tree rumbled. "I am an Ent."

"But you look like a tree," Fluttershy mumbled squeakily, still in shock.

Merry's expression of excitement intensified even further.

"You're a tree-herder," he realized, "a shepherd of the forest!"

Fluttershy couldn't help but be confused by this statement. Did trees in Middle-Earth differ from trees in Equestria by actually needing to be herded like animals?

She never got the chance to ask, however, as Pippin was speaking above her.

"Don't talk to it," he whispered loudly, glancing in the direction of the Pegasus. "Don't encourage it!"

The tree - no, the Ent - ignored his comment, and rumbled in confirmation to Merry's assumption.

"My people are as ancient as they are necessary to the forest," he burrarrummed, starting to walk deeper into the trees, sending alerts of panic in his captives' minds. "We herd and protect the trees, and we help them to grow. Such has been our duty for hundreds of thousands of years." He scowled down at the three alarmed captives in his hands. "And now, in a time when war is broiling and the forest is suffering more every day, three creatures and an orc come running into my forest. They come with fire, they come with axes and iron, burning, cutting, and hacking it down as they go. Sounds like orc mischief to me!"

He started to squeeze them tighter, hitching their breath and digging into their ribs. Fluttershy paled and wriggled desperately to loosen the Ent's grip on her, hissing in pain as a few bones threatened to crack a little.

Merry, fortunately, came to their rescue quickly.

"We're not orcs!" he shouted, his voice strained from the lack of air, "we're hobbits. Well, she's not - she's a pony. Mare. Pegasus. From the land of Equestria."

The Ent burrarrummed again, then heaved his huge boulder-shoulders in a shrug, before turning his attention towards Fluttershy, and looking over her closely. Even going to far as to loosen his hold on her to better study her.

"Pony," the Ent repeated slowly in a burrarrum of a low grumble. "Yes, I know of your kind, daughter of Felaróf," he glanced back at the hobbits, "but I have never heard of a hobbit before."

He peered closer at them, and his eyes suddenly glowed even more fiercely. He tightened his grip.

"Which is why it is hard to believe you are telling the truth," he rumbled, "Are you sure you are not orcs?"

That sounded like a rather silly question to Fluttershy, but the pain on the hobbits' faces was enough to convince her that it was sufficient to extract the whole truth - which they had, admittedly, only told so far.

"Yes! We're hobbits, I tell you! Halfings! Shirefolk!" Merry gasped out.

"We like smoking... good food... and plants! We like trees! The Shire is full of trees!" Pippin shouted, his voice contorted in pain and his face beginning to redden alarmingly.

The Ent's mossy eyebrows creased further into a scowl.

"Only dwarves are as small as you," he thundered, "and they do not care for the forest, or my kin. They only delve deeper in their caves, seeking riches, cold and hard as they are, while the world ages and suffers. You are lying, little one."

He squeezed harder, and Fluttershy couldn't stand to watch it anymore.

"Stop it!" she screamed, "they're telling the truth! They're hobbits, and they live in the Shire. It's a place so far away it's no wonder you haven't heard of it." She gasped and tried to get her breath back. Luckily, the Ent's surprise at her outburst had loosened his grip a little along her midriff. "I stayed with them for a long time, and they are the kindest people I've ever met. Let them go! Please!"

The Ent stayed silent, though for some reason his brow was furrowed in what looked like concentration more than anger. But ultimately the Ent simply ignored her, focusing instead on her friends.

Fluttershy couldn't believe it. She was going to die. Not at the hands of the orcs or the uruk-hai, but at the rather larger and infinitely stronger hands of a walking, talking, thinking tree! A part of her quailed in fear at the idea of dying, but another part of her cringed at the ridiculousness of it all.

Twilight had told them all about how heroes didn't always get to experience noble deaths or happy endings. She had told them that being a hero sometimes required suffering a great deal so that others could have their own happy endings. But a part of her had always believed that anyone who would put their lives on the line for the sake of others deserved to experience a happy ending of their own. Or at the very least, die in a noble fashion. But fate seemed to be conspiring to rob her of either option under these circumstances.

Worse than that, Merry and Pippin were going to die along with her. They had stayed alive all this time, just for them to meet their end now? Under these circumstances?

Something inside of her snapped; something that wasn't a bone either.  This turn of events wasn't acceptable. It wasn't acceptable at all! She had to do something about that!

She grit her teeth and twisted a bit further back in a desperate attempt to loosen the pressure on her wings. She was already having trouble fighting off the panicky, primitive instincts that urged her to fight teeth and hooves to get free. Besides, that would only have attracted the Ent's attention, then his inevitable wrath if she accidentally, or not, stripped his bark of a few leaves.

But the Ent languidly kept his gaze ahead, watching his step as he carried them deeper into the Fangorn forest.

"Maybe you are who you say you are, and maybe you aren't." he rumbled in his age-old voice. "But I cannot say for sure. This is something the White Wizard will know."

Fluttershy froze whatever struggle she offered, and exchanged horrified glances at the hobbits. If they had all been pale before, they were now white as bed-sheets. Gandalf had nearly died while in that horrible old man's grasp, and they had been captured by the uruk-hai to be brought to him at his command. And now that they had finally escaped the orcs and their comrades, luck - or rather lack thereof - would have it that they should end up his captives anyway!

She closed her eyes in dread and sent a silent prayer up to whoever could be listening. If Twilight's lessons ever meant anything, she pleaded for the forces in motion to not let Saruman have them. If heroes ever deserved to experience happy endings, or if good wins in the end, then this couldn't be allowed to happen. They needed to be let go by this Ent. She thought of her animals, she thought of her friends and family back home, she thought of the whole new turns the path of her life would take if somehow, by some miracle, they escaped Saruman.

"Oi! It's just our luck, isn't it, Fluttershy?" Pippin asked as he struggled. "Three day. Three days we've been held captive by those smelly orcs! We finally get loose, and what happens? Old Man Willow's cousin catches us! That's what!"

The Ent suddenly came to a lurching halt, forcing Fluttershy's eyes to fly open in the process.

"You would dare to compare me to the likes of Old Man Willow?" the Ent asked, his voice sounding genuinely offended at the comparison being made.

"Am I wrong? Tell me I'm wrong," Pippin retorted as he continued struggling once again. "Oh, where's Tom Bombadil when we really need him?"

"You know of Tom Bombadil?"

Fluttershy was never an expert at reading other ponies, or really anything else other than animals for that matter. But if she had to guess at the sudden change in demeanor, the Ent was now regarding them with curiosity after hearing the name of their friend. Now seemed like a very good time to move, and she quickly nodded in confirmation.

"Oh, yes! Yes we do! Both he and his wife, Goldberry! He saved us from Old Man Willow when he tried to suffocate us!" she quickly squeaked out.

Merry was quick to add to the chorus of statements. "We stayed with them at their home afterward!"

For a long time the Ent remained silent, other than an occasional, muffled burrarrum, and the rustling of its leaves in the wind.

"Well now," the Ent muttered slowly, "this is certainly a development that was not anticipated."

At seeing the Ent's current confused state, Fluttershy quickly proceeded with the verbal assault on the situation. "Mr. Bombadil wouldn't help us if we were orcs, would he?"

Yet again, the Ent muttered a burrarrum in thought.

"I... do not know," it finally stated. "I do not believe so, but I cannot say for certain. We will ask the White Wizard, and see what he has to say on the matter. Even as we speak, he awaits us now."

"The White Wizard does not await, for he is here now!"

All eyes looked up immediately at the sound of the voice. At hearing it, the Ent opened his hands, sending all three companions tumbling to the leafy forest ground. They landed with a thud, too scared, horrified, or outright confused to even grunt at the impact.

Fluttershy raised her head, and for the second time in fifteen minutes found herself speechless with shock, figuring that either the world of Middle-Earth was a much crueler place than everyone thought, or she had gone completely mad. What she saw before her... there was just no way it could be possible!

"It cannot be," Merry breathed.

"My young friend. You look as if you have just seen a ghost."

That had done it. Without even thinking about her actions, Fluttershy had broke into a flying tackle, all but plowing into the one greeting them, and throwing her forelegs around them as she proceeded to weep openly, unable to keep her composure any longer.

Gandalf was back. He was back, and alive, and standing right before them, as if he'd never been gone to begin with.

"But... but I saw you fall!" Pippin stated, barely able to keep himself together. Right now the only reason he hadn't thrown himself against Gandalf, was the fact that Fluttershy had beaten him to it, and there was currently no room for him to do the same.

"I did," Gandalf admitted, although he found it necessary to speak louder to be heard over Fluttershy's currently hysterical state. "I fell. Through fire. And water. But it was not my time to be. I was sent back into the world once again, to finish what is currently in motion. There is much left that must be done before I am to die."

"Gandalf," the Ent rumbled slowly, "these claim to be hobbits. But I have never heard of hobbits before. Is this orc trickery that they engage in?"

Gandalf shook his head in response. "These three are as far removed from orcs, as you are from cave trolls, Treebeard," he stated. "I am pleased to say that these three are my friends; and a better bunch could not be asked for, in all of Middle Earth."

At hearing this, neither Merry nor Pippin could suppress the smile that graced their faces. That was high praise indeed.

"And it is for that very reason that I must, regrettably, say that we must depart from one another now," Gandalf stated.

The statement served as enough to put a -temporary- stop to Fluttershy's bawling, as she looked up at him in disbelief. They'd just reunited, and now they were going away again? Why?!

"What? But why?" Pippin asked, echoing the question that Fluttershy hadn't been able to.

"The matter is a complicated one, I am afraid. Even as we speak, the others are making their way towards our location, intent on reuniting with you," Gandalf stated.

"Wonderful news!" Merry cheered.

Gandalf nodded solemnly. "Under different circumstances, you would be right. But our circumstances are not so generous, I fear. You four are needed for a task of great importance elsewhere, far away from here. As much as I would love to allow you all to reunite once again, it is simply not possible; time is of the essence in this matter. You must depart immediately," he explained, before turning his attention upwards to Treebeard. "My old friend, could you see fit to taking these three to meet with the rest of your Ent brethren?"

"If that is what you wish, Gandalf," Treebeard rumbled in response.

"It is more than what I wish. It is what needs to be done," Gandalf replied, before addressing the others again. "Sadly I cannot join you on your journey. Just as you are needed elsewhere, I am needed here. Those that have not gone on ahead to Mordor will be coming through here by morning in search of you. They must be made aware of your well being, so that they are able to tend to a task of their own, that is also of great importance. And they will need all of their strength, if they are to succeed in what lays before them..."




Night fell over Emyn Muil. The travelers slept quietly, unaware of a dark, lanky, smelly shape, looming over them as it made it way over the cliff above them.

Above their camp, the entity best known as Gollum, loomed over them like an ominous dark shadow, and was currently making his way down towards them with intentions that were anything but pure or benevolent.

"They're thieves," he muttered and hissed through broken teeth, "they're thieves! The filthy, little thieves! Where is it? Where isss it? They stole it from us... my preciousss..."

Gollum slunk about, creeping along like a spider as he made his way toward their position, climbing down the facing of the cliff and onto the ground.

"Curse them! We hates them! It's ours, it is... and we wantssss it!" he hissed as he climbed atop a rock, making his way closer to them. He hadn't tracked them all this way for nothing, going through all the effort of locating them after they'd slipped away. He would have what was his, and then he would-

Gollum found his scattered thoughts broken as the rock he was currently atop suddenly shifted and moved, throwing him to the ground face first.

What Gollum hadn't accounted on, was the rock he was standing on not actually being a rock, but rather Spike making use of the camouflaging magic of his elven cloak to blend in with the surrounding territory, and allowing him to get into the perfect position for launching an ambush.

"Got ya, Stinky!" Spike yelled as he clung to Gollum's legs to keep him pinned down.

What Spike hadn't accounted on, was just how strong Gollum really was! Despite being so skinny, he was really hard to hold onto!

By now Frodo and Sam had leapt into action, demonstrating that they hadn't been asleep to begin with, each of them grabbing onto one of Gollum's arms in an effort to help Spike keep him down.

The scene quickly devolved into one of chaos and violence as the three members of the Fellowship struggled to deal with Gollum, who was proving to be no pushover in his own right. Despite having the advantage of surprise, it was no cake walk. Fists were swung, punches were thrown, kicks were landed, weapons were scrambled for by their rightful owners -and unrightful users- and there was much biting to be had; mostly but not exclusively on the part of Gollum.

Spike had fared better than Sam and Frodo in that respect, as his scales proved to be pretty much impervious to such an assault, although it had still hurt. He had been all too willing to return the favor, much to Gollum's displeasure as he had much greater biting strength at his disposal, what with being able to chew through diamonds as easily as candy.

Exactly how long the fight went on was anyone's guess. However it reached the boiling point when Gollum had managed to latch onto Sam from behind, getting him in a death grip with his hands around his throat, and was clearly intent on choking the hobbit out.

Frodo was the first to react, but Spike had been faster when it came to moving. Grabbing the first available weapon at hand, he swung forward what turned out to be Frodo's sword, aimed right for Gollum's scrawny neck. As soon as the blade had been seen, the proverbial wind had been taken right out of their opponent's sails, and leaving him looking like he'd just seen a ghost. Immediately he seized up, his hold on Sam's throat relaxing significantly.

"Let him go!" Spike barked in the most threatening manner he could muster. "Don't think I won't do it! I've had to kill orcs and goblins to protect my friends, what's one more? Let Sam go, or I'll cut your head off without even thinking about it!"

Frodo, sensing that Spike might not be in the best state for such a negotiation, carefully plucked his sword back out of his hand, in order to assume the negotiations for Sam's release on his own.

"This sword is called Sting," he stated matter of factly. "You've seen it before, haven't you, Gollum? You faced it when you tried to kill my uncle Bilbo!"

Gollum could do little more than whimper as he relinquished Sam, and began to wail.

Spike ignored the wailing in favor of checking on their companion. "You alright, Sam?"

"Ha... better than I could've been, I suppose," Sam replied as he rubbed as his neck. "The little bugger bites hard though!"

"True, but I bit him harder," Spike pointed out and grinned mischievously. "I think we should tie him up so he doesn't get loose. Do we still have that rope?"

"We should. Let me check," Sam replied and went to search the contents of his pack. Why Lady Galadriel had supplied them with rope, he didn't really know at the time, nor has he questioned it the decision. But if it would come in handy now, then all the better.

With Sam looking for the rope, Spike decided that it might be best to check on their "guest" and get a few points straightened out. Once they got him to stop wailing and howling, that is.

"Hey!" he yelled, following up with a smack to Gollum's forehead, instantly bringing his attention back to them. "Now listen up. Let's get a few things sorted out here."

Gollum gave a disgusted growl that sounded like a dismissive snort. "We nots listen to filthy, thieving hobbits, and stupid purple lizard," he hissed.

Spike frowned in response. "A lizard? Seriously?" he asked. "I'm no lizard, I'm a dragon!"

"Dr... dragon?" Gollum asked, his scratchy voice practically a squeak at hearing this.

"That's right, a dragon! Just like the mighty Smaug from centuries ago!" Spike stated, his voice growing louder as he spoke.

"Smaug?" Gollum asked, his voice even more of a squeak that before.

"That's right, Smaug! And you know what? He was my grandfather, so listen up!" Spike bellowed, deciding to run with the lie for all it was worth.

Sam found it necessary to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out laughing. Having been friends with Frodo, he had heard many of Bilbo's tales of adventure, including the tales of Smaug. The idea of someone as nice as Spike being related to such a foul beast, was just too ridiculous to believe. But so help him he was selling the story for all it was worth! And if Spike kept it up, he knew that he was going to lose it, and ruin the whole thing. Even as he hunted for the rope, his shoulders were quaking with barely restrained amusement.

Even Frodo, despite his burden, was having a hard time remaining serious at this point.

"Let's get a few things straight. The only reason you're even alive right now, is because I decided it. That's means I own you," Spike growled. "That means you work for me, which means you work for the hobbits, too! Am I understood!?"

Fearful, Gollum quickly nodded his head in understanding, all the while flinching away.

"Good. Now then, you were in Mordor. You being here means you got out of Mordor. If you know how to sneak out, that means you know how to sneak back in. You're going to show us how we get into Mordor. Otherwise..."

Spike paused and turned his focus onto a nearby rock, before exhaling a jet of green flames. Despite the contact with the stone being only for several seconds, it had been enough to heat it up to the point it was glowing with a cherry red color, and radiating a great deal of heat.

"Any questions?" he asked as he turned his attention back to Gollum. Although his tone did much to convey the point that the question was entirely rhetorical, and more akin to an order than it was anything else.

Gollum quickly shook his head in response, not daring to argue otherwise.

The mirth that Sam had experienced just moments ago quickly faded at the demonstration. He had thought Twilight was intimidating when she went about assuming charge of a situation, and radiating a commanding presence and whatnot. But Spike was something else in his own right.

"Very good. Now then, I just have one other question I wanna get settled for the time being," Spike replied. "How in the heck did you get across the chasm in Moria after the bridge was destroyed?"
> Fangorn Forest
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fangorn Forest




Catching up to Rainbow Dash had been no small feat of accomplishment for Twilight, even with the aid of her magic. If she'd been flying normally, she wouldn't have been able to do it until her friend finally stopped. But with levitation it'd been slightly easier to pull off, even though it was still a constant effort to keep up with her.

"Rainbow Dash-"

"I don't wanna hear it!" Rainbow Dash yelled back, not even bothering to look behind her. "Fluttershy is alive until we find her charred bones. If you're gonna say otherwise, then just go away and leave me alone!"

Twilight flinched at Rainbow Dash's words, and the tone in which they were delivered. She hadn't even intended to talk about such facts, she'd merely wanted to tell her friend to slow down so the others could actually catch up to them.

"We've been friends since we were young, Twi'," Rainbow Dash continued, her tone of address less harsh than it had been just a few second ago. "We grew up together. Her parents and my parents were neighbors for years. We used to have play dates together. We used to spend the night at each other's house. I protected her from bullies back in Cloudsdale. She... she can't be dead, not like this," she insisted.

Twilight had nothing to say in response; certainly nothing that could be useful in this situation. What could she possibly say, that the disturbed pegasus hadn't already thought on her own?

Perhaps it was best to simply not think too hard on the matter right now. Nothing was going to change whatever had happened, so there really wasn't any point in thinking about it until it was necessary.

"She's not dead, they're not dead, until we actually find their bones. Got it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Twilight nodded, even though Rainbow Dash wouldn't be able to see it. "Right. You're... you're right. Without an actual body, or some trace thereof, you can't prove death," she agreed.





The nostril-burning scent in the air wound up smacking them in the face long before they actually saw the source of the foul odor.

Well, perhaps that was not strictly true; they had been able to see a huge plume of dark smoke in the distance for about an hour now, but the stench it carried reached the seven hunters before they could see the pile of carcasses it originated from. At last, as they wearily cantered over the last ridge, their eyes fell on a mount of dark, charred uruk corpses, still smoking and stinking to high heaven. The next thing to be noticed was their friends, and their efforts at actually sorting through the remains, as well as desecrating a few of them in the process.

Rarity wrinkled her nose, thinking she quite possibly had never smelled anything so awful; it was even worse than the streets of Bree, disgusting as those had been. This was the burning, noxious stench of charred flesh so rotten already, it was a wonder the uruks had ever been alive at all. Once the smell reached her nostrils, it refused to go away, and she couldn't even get used to it, for every breath of wind brought a new wave of smoky air laden with choking particles of burned orc. She gagged and firmly planted her forehead on Applejack's back, preferring even the smell of old, damp-with-sweat fur to scorched orcs.

They cautiously joined Twilight and Rainbow Dash near the stinking pile of corpses, wary of wicked blades that littered the ground. Aragorn was the first to dismount his horse, but it was clear from his walk that he didn't expect to find anything other than sorrow. Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity stayed back a couple seconds longer, taking in the horrific sight and thinking the Rohirrim had not been exaggerating; they had slaughtered what must've been the entire horde.

Rarity's heart sank a little as she realized the truer significance of that act; the Rohirrim were clearly fearsome warriors, and the confusion in the attack would have made it a dozen times more dangerous as the horse-lords would not know to spare the three captives. There was very little chance their friends would have escaped, especially if they had been bound and weakened, as Rarity suspected they were.

Applejack's even grimmer expression told Rarity she was probably thinking along the same lines. And the sound of a balloon being deflated as Pinkie's mane went limp, simply reinforced it further.

Applejack and Rarity each placed a forehoof around Pinkies' withers, and together they joined Twilight and Rainbow Dash near the pile, their eyes scanning the darkened remains of the orcs, eager for a familiar face or weapon, yet dreading that potential sight more than anything else. Despite the brilliant sunshine, which had appeared half-an-hour after Eomer had left them, the strong, cold wind reminded them all it was the middle of winter, and Pinkie's shiver was in part due to it. She huddled slightly closer to Applejack and Rarity, who squeezed her a little tighter, and they carried on a bit, scrutinizing the pile of corpses, wishing for a miracle and that against all odds their friends were not somewhere in it.

Behind them, Gimli was kicking around various pieces of broken armor that laid about, discarding some more forcefully with the butt of his axe. All the while doing his best to avoid walking over the charred corpses that'd been shown the way off the pile.

Legolas was staring at the smoking pile, immobile, and his eyes held a vague kind of sadness in them. He knew that they were likely to find only pain and grief here. He had privately been against coming here in the first place, knowing that facing reality would cripple their companions with grief, but recognizing that it was a necessity, as much for his friends as it was out of respect for their missing companions.

The elf glanced at Aragorn, who was scanning the area around the pile with his keen ranger's gaze, looking for something, anything, that could indicate the whereabouts of their friends. The Ponies had nearly completed their circle around the pile of uruks, and their stony expressions told him they had not seen any sign of their loved ones' deaths, but no sign of their survival either. Boromir was still on his horse, the guilt clear in his eyes, but also there was doubt. Doubt that all of them were feeling, but that some refused to show. Boromir urged Brindel forward to help look for any sign of their companions at all, but it was clear in the horse's slow and half-hearted gait that neither horse nor master expected to find anything of value to them.

There was a hoarse cry, and everyone turned to see Gimli straightening with something in his hand. He held it up, and even those most far away could see what it was, and their hearts sank.

"It's one of their wee belts." His voice, hushed with grief, cracked slightly, and he bowed his head.

Twilight was unable to move. Was this shock. when you couldn't speak, think, or move? Her mind was having difficulty processing what she was seeing. The belt... It had been given to one of the hobbits by Lady Galadriel, and neither had parted with their Noldorin blades since. And the pendant now dangling from Applejack's hoof as she picked it up... Fluttershy was definitely not known to leave behind a gift that she cherished. Which meant...

She fell to her knees, suddenly unable to stand anymore. After everything, all of the exhaustion and worry, all of the desperate digging through burnt remains, she simply didn't have any strength left any longer, mental or physical. She didn't care that there were sharp blades everywhere around her, or that they could be potentially poisoned, or that she would be in trouble if she cut herself on them. She only knew that she had sworn to protect Frodo, and she had let him walk with only Sam and Spike into Mordor while they pursued the others.

The pendant being present didn't mean Fluttershy had been wearing it at the time; it could've just as easily been ripped from her neck by some greedy orc who met their end during the chaos. She knew that was the truth. But she also knew that Fluttershy, who had done so much for the group, could just as easily be dead, and had never gotten the chance to show her friends the extent of her love for them. The same was equally true for Merry and Pippin, who had knowingly put themselves in harms way by distracting the uruk-hai with rocks to prevent their companions from getting killed, rather than hiding away and being safe.

Hope still remained, but hope hurt so very much right now.

Aragorn uttered a hoarse, wordless yell and fell to his knees, shaking his fists at the sky as he let out the grief. His whole body wracked with anger, shock and utter helplessness, and the ranger put his face in a hand still bearing traces of blood from their battle at the Anduin two days earlier. Boromir, Applejack and the others weren't faring any better.

Rainbow Dash was still rooted on the spot next to Twilight, and hadn't moved since Gimli and Applejack had shown them the hateful evidence that suggested their friends' deaths. Twilight blinked away her blurry vision - she had not even noticed the tears gathering - and saw Legolas, his eyes closed and his lips moving almost silently. He seemed to be in prayer.

Rainbow Dash saw him, too. She moved suddenly as she made a beeline for where the elf currently stood. Her face was dark, and her gaze ready to optically kill anyone who happened to cross her.

"What was that?" the Pegasus demanded to know, coming to a halt just in front of a taken-aback Legolas.

"Rainbow, I-"

"What was it?" she asked again, harsher this time. "A prayer? A blessing? A request to your Valar to watch over Fluttershy and the Hobbits?"

Twilight somehow got to her hooves, in spite of her exhaustion, and tried to soothe her hot-headed friend.

"Rainbow, please, calm down. He didn't mean anything by it-"

The Pegasus took a step closer to Legolas, looking as angry as Twilight had ever seen her.

"Oh yes, he did." she bit back. "He mumbled something in elvish because he thinks Fluttershy and the others are dead. He thinks there's no hope left for any of them."

Legolas remained calm, and Rainbow Dash's eyes throwing daggers at him did not stop him from giving the grief-stricken Pegasus a pitying look.

"Rainbow Dash, we all saw what was left of the ones who bore the belt and pendant." the elf said softly. "We can no longer hope for their survival. If Fluttershy was as loyal as you say-"

"She is!" Rainbow Dash growled out, refusing to speak of her best friend in the past tense. The elf nodded sadly in acknowledgement.

"Then we must assume that she stayed with Merry and Pippin, and defended them to the last. She died an honourable death."

The elf's wise old eyes scanned Rainbow Dash's features, and hated himself for so blatantly saying that Fluttershy was no more, but the Pegasus needed to face reality, and the sooner the better. He'd heard whispered conversations between them, and the little he had understood left the suspicious impression on him that these ponies actually believed they were legends, and tried to live their lives as though they were. The elf was not one to dismiss myths, for the whole of Middle-Earth knew of things that no doubt sounded impossible at first - like Valinor, and immortal elves who could do magic - but there was a limit, and that included claims of ponies who are 'living legends'.

"They're not dead until we find their bodies," Rainbow Dash stated in a low, aggressive tone, repeating the mantra of narrative they'd had since the beginning of their excavation efforts. "If you've got time and energy to be mourning them, Pointy, then you've got time and energy to actually be checking! Now help us dig to the bottom of this pile!"

She had far more to say than just that, but by that time Twilight had wearily made her way over to her, and placed a hoof on her back.

"Come on," Twilight said as she did her best to sooth her friend. "He's only being respectful, Rainbow. You can't expect everyone to have the same level of optimism that you do."

The Pegasus turned to look at her, and Twilight felt a stab of pain as she locked gazes with her. Her eyes had that raw look to them again, and she had slept so little in the past three nights that the purple shadows under and around them looked more like bruises. But what struck her worst was the loss in them; they were empty and basically soulless, so wracked with pain that Rainbow Dash looked slightly insane, and she knew that she would only ever look whole again if she were to see Fluttershy once more. That looked highly unlikely at the moment, and she could think of nothing else to say.

"They slaughtered them," Rainbow Dash stated matter of factly. "We saw it for ourselves, Twilight. Twenty or thirty orcs dead. Their skulls were crushed, they were impaled on their own swords. Fluttershy and the others fought hard. They can't be dead, it's just not possible," she continued. "Please? You don't think they're dead? Do you?" Rainbow Dash whispered hoarsely.

Twilight hesitated. She'd never had that kind of connection with anyone, not even Princess Celestia, so she couldn't answer with absolute certainty. Her reaction to Eomer's news earlier had solely been due to her magic and well-oiled logical reflexes. She had thought it was unlikely they were dead, considering the lack of reports of Hobbit and Pegasus corpses, But right now, when she was surrounded by nothing but death, she didn't know what to think. The evidence to support the conclusion that they were dead was circumstantial at best, but it was still evidence regardless.

"I think that Legolas is right in that Fluttershy would've done everything in her power to keep Merry and Pippin safe," she answered at last. "We'll keep digging through the pile until we hit bottom, but, it's possible that the pain you're feeling now is maybe a sign that..." she couldn't bear to finish the sentence. She knew that if she was to actually say the words "Fluttershy is dead" and acknowledge such, she was going to lose what little composure she had left, and let go all the pieces.

Looking back up at Rainbow Dash, she didn't need Galadriel's ability to read minds to know what kind of turmoil her friend was currently experiencing. She knew that her words were going to cause more pain than not, but she also knew that they had to be said regardless.

"I'm sorry," was all she could say as she pulled Rainbow Dash into a hug, desperately trying to keep herself together for not only her sake, but also for the sake of the others.

"... I'm the only one here that still thinks Fluttershy might be alive, aren't I?" Rainbow Dash asked in a low tone as she looked past Twilight's withers at the others.

There were a few sad, solemn nods from them, while others could only look down and not actually make eye contact with her. But it was enough to convey the fact that she was the only holdout present.

"That's what I thought," Rainbow Dash mumbled as she untangled herself from Twilight's hug. "Alright. Let's say you're all right, and I'm wrong about this. Let's say that Fluttershy, Merry, and Pippin really are dead, just for the sake of discussion," she continued, trying to keep the hitch out of her voice as she even dignified the notion by speaking it aloud. "Those three were our friends in all this, right? Doesn't that warrant them at least getting a proper burial? O-or are you all alright with just leaving them laying in that pile of orcs like they're garbage fit to be thrown away and forgotten about?" she asked.

That had gotten a rise out of them. Middle Earth or Equestria, the idea seemed to strike a sour chord with the whole lot of them, some utterly repulsed by the very notion.

"No. No that simply wouldn't do at all," Rarity replied as she shook her head. "We failed to rescue them. The very least we can do is lay them to rest in a dignified manner."

Twilight could do little more than nod in agreement. If Fluttershy, Merry, and Pippin were all dead, then they deserved more than to be forgotten about in such a crass manner. Rarity was right, it was the very least that they could do for them after everything that had happened. They owed it to them to find their remains, so that they didn't have to spend eternity with the orcs.

"Back to it then," she said as she prepared to go back to digging through the remains.

"I'll just... start digging some holes," Pinkie replied softly and sniffed. "They'll be the... the nicest holes I ever dug for anyone..."

"Ah'll help ya, sugarcube," Applejack said as she rested a hoof on Pinkie's back, not wanting to let her friend be left all alone with such a morbid duty.

"I'll help in the search," Rarity quietly mumbled and stepped closer to the pile, bracing herself for the noxious odor she'd have to endure.

"Right," Rainbow Dash replied with a nod. "We don't stop until we find them."

"Then you may be at it for quite a while, lass!" Gimli called from where he currently stood, drawing their attention to him. "I admit, I know not of how things are done back in Equestria. But here in Middle Earth, the dead are not usually in the habit of making tracks after they have been killed!"

The others looked at one another in confusion, before looking back at where Gimli stood as he looked at the ground intently, each of them wondering just what he was talking about. Was it possible that...

Aragorn was the first to cross the distance between them, the others following suit, as curiosity overwhelmed them.

The entire area had been trampled by man, horse, and orc, countless tracks littering everywhere that one may look. And yet even with all of that to deal with, they had still failed at obliterating every trace of what was being searched for, as Aragorn looked at tracks far too small to belong to any equine other than Fluttershy herself. And next to them were still more tracks that all but certainly belonged to two Hobbits.

"The three of them stood here at one point," he spoke up after a long moment of looking down. "But... there is something that is not right about this. We must spread out and look for more tracks," he stated as he stood back up again.

"Actually, I may have an idea," Twilight spoke up as her horn began to glow. As as it began to glow, two beams came into existence, each of them equally spaced away from the other. They were incredibly thin, like a sheet of parchment, but looking at them from the front and back they covered an incredibly wide area, easily touching the ground and crawling over the entire surface as they slowly rotated.

"I didn't think of it before, because there simply wasn't any need to before now; not when they'd been taken hostage by the Uruk-Hai, and certainly not when there was the possibility of them being dead. But now that we've found this, which suggests that isn't the case..." she trailed off, not feeling the need to spell out the reasoning behind the timing of events. Instead she decided to utilize the time to explain what she was doing. "Fluttershy's body holds Equestrian magic, just like all of ours. There would be minute, barely perceptible traces left behind wherever she walked; traces that would be present for days before naturally decaying and breaking down. It's just a matter of detecting those traces, highlighting them with the right frequency, and... voila!"

As the two wide beams cut out, the others looked around them, and discovered what Twilight had been doing. Whatever the process was, had left numerous tracks on the ground giving off a faint, lavender glow that made them stick out against the duller tones of the ground.

What hadn't been expected was just how many tracks there were all over the area!

"Goodness," Rarity practically gasped as she looked around.

Aragorn was again silent as he carefully studied the now-visible tracks. Many had been trampled over by numerous participants, and it was doubtful he would've found half of them on his own, if not for Twilight's magical abilities assisting him. And now that he was seeing them for himself, that sense of something not feeling right was just growing more and more with each moment that passed. These were not the tracks made by one who was a prisoner, but rather one who was allowed a full range of movement and travel.

"Somepony help me out here. Am Ah seein' things, or does it look like Fluttershy was up and walkin' all over the camp as she pleased?" Applejack asked.

"It does look that way," Legolas noted. And as he spoke, his sharp hawk eyes were picking up on certain other matters. Fluttershy hadn't been the only one up and roaming about, as he was seeing Hobbit footprints as well. "As were Merry and Pippin. It is as if they were given free run of the encampment. Something is not adding up here."

"It certainly doesn't," Twilight stated, her mind frantically trying to make sense of the whole situation. "The Uruk-Hai really don't strike me as the type to just allow prisoners to walk about freely. And yet..." she trailed off as she looked back at the tracks again, as well as what looked like cut pieces of rope.

"Well... Fluttershy is quite clever. She managed to bring Discord under control when the rest of us couldn't do anything. Perhaps she managed to do the same with them?" Rarity asked.

"Ah don' rightly know. Fluttershy can bring jus' about any manner o' beast under her control, but Ah've never seen it on such a large scale before. It's always been single cases, never entire groups all at once," Applejack stated. "But at the same time, Ah don' know what else would explain this."

"We can ask when we find them! There's more tracks leading off in this direction!" Pinkie called from where she stood, bringing their attention to her, her mane and tail considerably poofier than when they'd first arrived on the gruesome scene.

Applejack looked at Aragorn, who looked back at her. Without so much as a single word exchanged between them, they knew that they were of similar thought on the matter.

Aragorn was first to rush to Pinkie's location, while Applejack trailed behind, her leg groaning in protest at the sudden movement, yet she urged herself on anyway, as they moved to inspect what Pinkie had found.

Less than a minute into their efforts, both Aragorn and Applejack had stopped, and were now facing the huge forest that bordered what had once been the uruk-hai's camp. Twilight noticed it ages ago that morning, when they had yet to meet the Rohirrim, but no-one had mentioned it, and indeed when Eomer gestured towards it to indicate the general direction of the burned carcasses, she thought Aragorn's face somehow became even more sombre. His was the demeanor of one who knew something, but didn't wish to address it; she'd seen it before with Gandalf at the prospect of entering Moria.

Now, as the rest of them rejoined their companions at their becoming stock still, she was seeing it once again.

"They're in Fangorn," Aragorn told them. Twilight glanced at him, and just as she'd thought, his face darkened at the name.

She herself felt uneasy as she stared at the grey bark of the trees, the thick tangle of roots and branches that made it look impossible to enter. She couldn't help but remark on the unfortunate name it had been given.

"Is it me or does 'Fangorn' sound a lot like the Everfree Forest back home?" she muttered.

No-one save Pinkie, Rarity and Applejack answered, but seconds later Rainbow Dash took two steps forward, for all intents and purposes looking like she was about to fly right into the forest. At a glance from Aragorn, Pinkie darted forward and quickly latched onto her friend. Rainbow Dash, surprised by the sudden move, let out a squawk not unlike a bird as she began thrashing about, doing her best to fight her way free of the hold Pinkie had on her, that at the moment quite literally had her hooves lifted right off the ground.

"Woah, woah, woah! Easy there, Dashie!" Pinkie insisted as she tried to hold onto her squirming friend without hurting her.

Rainbow Dash snarled, and Twilight immediately had a flashback of the manticore they'd faced together on their first adventure in the Everfree Forest.

"Let me go, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash growled, struggling to break free from the party pony's vice-like grip. "They're in there! You know it and I know it! Let me go!" she shrieked.

"If I do that you'll just go charging in there without the rest of us," Pinkie insisted.

"Then you'd better keep up with me!" Rainbow Dash yelled, trying to gain some leverage that would break Pinkie's hold on her. If she could even get her wings free, she could easily work with that.

"Rainbow Dash, we cannot go in there!"

It was a statement made by Aragorn that temporarily distracted Rabinow Dash from her efforts at breaking free, as she turned her head to look at the man in disbelief.

"Well maybe you can't, but I sure can," she shot back, "just as soon as I get loose!"

The ranger sighed and held up his hands in a gesture of peace, knowing that he was going to have to work harder at calming their companion down.

Before he could, however, Rarity had taken the initiative of speaking up.

"I believe what Aragorn is trying to say, is that now simply isn't the appropriate time to set off into the forest," she stated. "Darling, I know you want to find Fluttershy, but at least think about it first. We've been on the dead run for three days and nights straight. We're all exhausted. You, myself, Twilight... We need time to rest properly before we can be of any use. What could we possibly hope to do in our current condition?"

"We can find them," Rainbow Dash shot back.

"And then what? What would we do after that?" Rarity asked.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to respond, only to find that she had nothing to actually say. What were they going to do once they found Fluttershy and the others alive? Were they going to set course for Mordor right there and then? She significantly doubted that they really would. They'd probably rest along the way, and recuperate their strength or something.

"Then we'd at least all be together again," she finally replied, no longer struggling to get loose from Pinkie's hold on her.

"And we will be, my friend. But we must rest first. The lot of us can barely stand, and such is not the sort of condition one should be in when entering the Fangorn forest," Boromir spoke up as he moved to better face her. "We can at least take comfort in the fact that the riders of Rohan did nothing to harm them," he pointed out.

Applejack nodded in agreement. "There ain't any tracks leadin' into the forest besides the ones made by Fluttershy, Merry, and Pippin. That means they at least got away before things went bad."

Despite the well meaning intentions of their words, they weren't having the desired results on Rainbow Dash. After three days and nights of desperate pursuit, little rest, constant worry, and all of the stress she'd been forced to deal with on her own, she was emotionally torn up inside. She was dealing with a myriad of conflicting feelings right now, and all of them wanted to be released.

She wanted to yell and scream as loud as she could. She wanted to go off on Aragorn for apparently abandoning his kingly duties to Gondor in order to apparently play ranger. She wanted to let Boromir have it, and tell him that she should've just let him be killed by that ugly orc. She wanted to rip into Twilight for giving up on Fluttershy so easily just because the others had. She wanted to chew herself out for how she'd been treating her own friends the past few days. But more than that, more than any of that, she just wanted to let go and cry right now, because she was too frustrated to think straight anymore. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, that she honestly didn't know how to deal with it anymore. She'd been struggling to remain strong for so long, she just didn't have any strength left to her anymore. She was an empty, exhausted shell of her former self, and she didn't know how much more she could take before she completely lost it. All she really knew was that, sooner or later, it was coming and there was nothing she could do to stop it from happening. It was only a matter of time before she collapsed on the ground, and started bawling her eyes out in primal frustration over not being able to express how she was feeling in any other way.

At sensing her friend was no longer likely to take off without them, Pinkie lowered Rainbow Dash back onto the ground and let go of her, watching as she slumped onto all four hooves and more or less just slouched in place. It was... a little bit frightening at how easily the fight had gone right out of her. It was almost like watching a balloon deflate.

At seeing Rainbow Dash slump, Twilight released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding the whole time.

Ever since Rainbow Dash had returned the ring to Frodo -entirely voluntarily on her part no less- she'd been hoping that this matter was firmly behind them. But the last three days had given her reason to doubt that actually being a possibility. At first she'd simply written it off as being stress from their current predicament, but now she was suspecting something far worse might be going on with her friend right now. Rainbow Dash had slowly been growing more snappy and irritable ever since they'd split up to pursue separate goals. She didn't know if it was her worry over Fluttershy's safety, or maybe guilty, or if she was going through some sort of dark magic withdrawal from the ring being absent, or if it was another matter entirely. But whatever it was, it had her seriously worried. This situation was going to need to be observed much closer than she'd originally assumed.

"Can we make camp here?" she asked Aragorn, her voice barely above a whisper.

Aragorn simply nodded in response, his expression unreadable as he observed Rainbow Dash's current position and composure. More than likely, he shared her own concerns on the subject.

"Right then," Twilight muttered, observing as the others were already going about readying the area for its intended purpose. Boromir and Applejack were going about clearing the ground of anything that might serve as a hazard or a point of injury, while the rest went about their own matters.

While they went about their own tasks, her mind was elsewhere. When they'd set out to save their friends, a significant percentage of their supplies had been left behind so as to not slow them down; supplies they could've used over the past three days in their journey. Supplies that could benefit them right now, such as food stuffs that weren't exclusively elven bread.

She had possessed the foresight to place a beacon spell upon the pile of goods abandoned in favor of speed, in case they couldn't return to reclaim them for whatever reason. The possibility of actually doing such was looking decidedly less so with every new development they encountered. The thought of just losing everything like that didn't sit right with her one bit, so she reached out with her magic through processes that only true magic users would understand, and called forth on what was gone.

In a flash their pile of discarded supplies appeared before them, bringing much excitement in the process, and bringing others close to reclaim what they had relinquished ownership of.

Legolas felt a tap at his shoulder, distracting him momentarily from joining the others in doing such.

"How did the dwarf notice the tracks before any of us?" Boromir asked in a hushed tone that wouldn't easily be heard by the others.

At this, Legolas could only offer a simple shrug in response. "He is closer to the ground."





For the group that was unofficially designated Fellowship Team Bravo, their situation wasn't much better than that of their comrades who were currently many miles away.

Gollum had been captured and brought under control through their combined efforts, and his overall demeanor did a lot to suggest that he'd taken Spike's words and warnings to heart, as he was doing his best to avoid upseting their group too much. But despite that fact, the general consensus was still that the abomination couldn't be trusted as far as they could throw him. At the same time, however, they knew they had very little choice but to actually trust him as they followed along to what was promised as the way into Mordor. Gollum was the only one of them who would actually have reason to know which way to actually go, thus serving to make the sinewy little bastard invaluable to them.

Invaluable, but still not trustworthy. He was going on ahead of them way too often, in a manner that just reeked of being suspicious. It was enough to make Sam wonder if he'd prepared this path ahead of time, and was looking for something that could be used against them; concerns that were certainly shared by Spike, but couldn't actually be substantiated by evidence.

"Hey! Be where I can see you!" Spike called out. Not for the first time today since starting this journey as a quartet, and more than likely not for the last time either. For whatever reason, Gollum was -to put it mildly- not very good at either remembering or following orders.

"I'm liking this arrangement less and less," Sam commented as they traveled along.

"You are not alone there, Sam," Frodo replied as he trudged along with his friends on their journey. "But what choice do we have in the matter?"

"Ditch Stinky, do something to bring Sauron's attention to us so we'll get brought to Mordor, and try to fight our way through all his forces as we make our way to the top of Mount Doom. All without getting killed or losing the ring in the process," Spike stated matter of factly. "In short, not much choice at all. We're stuck with him on this journey."

Frodo was about to reply, pointing out that Gollum had promised them that he'd show them the way to Mordor. But he chose to refrain from such discussion as Gollum quickly came back to their current position, his demeanor not unlike that of a dog eager to show its master something, as he gestured frantically.

"See, see, we have led you out!" Gollum said proudly, perching on a rock, just above the travelers and gestured with his arm, "hurry master dragon, hurry hobbitses, hurry!"

The travelers climbed up the rock, following their guide. Gollum then jumped onto a rock at the edge of the maze of rock and cliff and looked back as the others slowly caught up with him. The travelers had finally reached the end of Emyn Muil as they looked on ahead... and saw that Mordor was now closer.

"Very lucky we find you," Gollum added.

Frodo walked past Gollum and continued down the slope, while Sam and Spike walked up to Gollum and glared at him as he shrunk a little, away from them.

Frodo might've felt pity for Gollum, as he was the only other one who had any idea of what it was like to bear the burden of the ring. But Sam and Spike shared no such feelings for him.

Gollum quickly leapt after Frodo, putting a wide distance between him, Sam and Spike.

As the travelers finally came out of the slopes of Emyn Muil, Sam's foot suddenly slipped into a patch of muck.

"Whoa!" Sam exclaimed, disgusted. The Hobbit then looked around... to see a swamp before them...

"...It's a bog!" Sam recoiled, "he's led us into a swamp!"

"I guess we finally found what was stinking so bad," Spike muttered as he looked around.

There was mist everywhere. Frodo and Spike looked around with frightening awe. To say that it looked vast would be a drastic understatement.

"A swamp, yes, yes... come, we will take you on safe paths through the mist." He then looks back and gestures the travelers to follow, "...come, master dragon, come hobbites, come. We go quickly..."





Twilight jerked awake with a start, mentally fumbling for a light spell to cast. It was dark, cold, and everyone around her seemed to be moving and talking at once. She staggered to her hooves, blinking the sleep out of her eyes and tried to understand what was going on. The embers of a campfire provided a little light to see by, and she saw Rarity talking quickly and quietly to Aragorn, the alarm on her face clear even in the dim amber light.

Turning off her horn, and the purple light with it, Twilight sleepily went over to them.

"What happened?" she asked, trying to suppress a yawn that wanted out. "Geez, how long did I sleep? I don't even remember closing my eyes. You should have woken me up, I could've helped make camp or something," she argued halfheartedly. Although in truth she was a little glad that hadn't happened, as she apparently needed the rest if she didn't even remember laying down. Although now her neck really ached.

Note to self: never sleep on someone's shoulder for more than a few minutes ever again.

Aragorn looked grim. There were lines of strain on his face, and Twilight had a feeling he hadn't had much rest, if any.

"Lady Rarity says she saw an old man a few feet away from the fire during her watch. When she raised the alarm to wake us, the old man had already gone. Vanished in the blink of an eye."

Twilight's mind raced, and she remembered something Eomer had said.

He walks here and there, they say, hooded and cloaked like an old man...

"Saruman?" she asked in a whisper.

The ranger nodded. "Perhaps. We cannot be sure of course, but how many old men wander around the wilderness of Rohan at night? And I am willing to bet that however many those are, none would flee at the sight of our camp, or the warmth of our fire."

There was a cry of anger from Boromir a few feet away.

"The horses are gone! That traitorous wretch made them run away!"

Twilight spun around and had a look for herself. Her heart sank. It was true. Aragorn had mentioned how Rohirric horses were different from their kind; they were more intelligent, more bound to their riders. There was no risk of them running off at night. There was now no doubt that either someone or something had been here, and that it hadn't been a mere hallucination from Rarity lacking sleep. A simple hallucination like that wouldn't be enough to scare away the horses.

Far away, to the west, the faint cries of several whinnies finally reached them. Boromir swore, and Aragorn sighed. He ran a hand over his tired face.

"We have but one option. With no horses, we cannot leave and find a safer spot further along the forest. Besides, I do not think any place around Fangorn is safe from Saruman. We cannot enter the forest at night, that would be suicide. We must remain here until morning, then enter Fangorn and continue the search for our companions."

Twilight squirmed a bit. She hated the idea of staying here, sleeping if she ever managed to, while a cruel, immensely powerful wizard who also happened to be an ally of the Dark Lord stalked them. Glancing around her, she saw that her companions looked similarly unhappy about this new development. Particularly Rainbow Dash.

Aragorn also noticed such facts.

"I do not think he will hurt us," he assured them. "Rarity says he was simply standing there when she saw him, and he made no move to attack, taking his flight as soon as she alerted us. If Saruman wanted to harm or kill us, he would have succeeded, even with one of us on watch. It seems he was merely curious about our fellowship, no doubt wondering who dared to stay so close to Fangorn."

"Oh just great," Rainbow Dash groaned. "Not only is Saruman trying to kill us, he's also trolling us."

She didn't like the idea of the old wizard demonstrating his own sick, twisted sense of humor against them. She'd rather face a stand up fight against ten thousand angry orcs, than try and deal with that.

"That's not funny," Pinkie commented, "that's not funny at all."

Twilight wasn't reassured by Aragorn's evaluation of the matter. He hadn't seen the things she'd seen, he didn't know the things she knew. Saruman couldn't be trusted to play by the rules, or to simply be observing them with no interest in destroying them. None of this was making sense. But without more information to go on, there wasn't much that could be done by them other than settling back down.

She took up a spot next to where Rainbow Dash currently sat. For the first time since she'd woken up, she took a good look at her friend. The sleep had evidently done her some good, but the lost, raw look in her eyes was still there. Her breakdown hours ago had been spectacularly uncomfortable to observe, as well as to listen to, but as best she could tell had left no traces but a slight sag in her withers, as though all the fight had been beaten out of her.

Twilight, however, knew better than that. She laid down on the soft, grassy ground beside her, and nudged Rainbow Dash lightly, before motioning her to do the same.

"You need more sleep." she told her simply.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, staring into the darkness. When she spoke, her voice was flat.

"I've already had too much. I'm taking the next watch." she announced more loudly, unfurling her wings in readiness and easing them across her sides to give them a good stretch.

Twilight wanted to protest that she needed more rest, but stopped herself, and glanced at Aragorn. As co-leader, he technically had the right to order Rainbow Dash to stand down, but the ranger seemed to hesitate. After more or less crying herself to sleep, Rainbow Dash had gotten more rest than the others since this afternoon, and Aragorn himself hadn't slept much at all. The others were in great need of it, too.

On the other hoof, Rainbow Dash had been the one in most need of rest - that much had been clear during her nervous breakdown earlier. Compassion demanded one path of action, logic another.

The ranger simply nodded in response.

"So be it. But if you feel the slightest need for more rest, Rainbow, wake someone to take your place."

"Wake me." Twilight offered. "It's only fair. I've probably had far too much sleep as well. Might as well make myself useful."

That having been decided, the others settled down once more in the dying glow of the fire. Curiously, it seemed to generate as much warmth as a full-on fire, and Twilight found herself grateful for its heat, shivering slightly as a cold wind blew around the plains. Looking above, she noticed something strange; the branches of the trees behind them were waving around slightly, even though the wind had died down. One tree in particular seemed to be...stretching its branches?

She nudged Rainbow Dash, before gesturing upward.

"Look," she whispered. "The trees are behaving oddly. It's almost as if they're enjoying the fire as well."

It certainly seemed to be the case; the wind was gone for now, yet the branches and leaves gently moved as though a breeze was riffling through them, and all of them in the direction of their small fire. Twilight absently wondered at the marvel of thinking trees. All in all, she thought, her life was pretty interesting, even though it had its downsides, like a few near death experiences in some of their more dangerous adventures. But at least it was exciting. She thought of all the ponies in her world who had no idea that all of this, different worlds, new intelligent life, thinking trees, even existed. Reflecting on that, and realizing that she and her friends were actually probably the only ones to know about the wonder of Middle-Earth, she suddenly felt very special, and incredibly lucky.

"Do you ever wonder about how we're going to go home?" she asked Rainbow Dash after a few minutes. The others were mostly asleep by then, there was no arguing with exhaustion, and her question hadn't been loud enough to wake anyone.

Her friend didn't answer for a few moments.

"No."

Twilight looked at her, surprised. "What? Why not?"

Rainbow Dash shrugged slightly.

"Right now, nothing to me seems more important than finding Flutters and getting her back safely. And before that, it was all about helping Frodo, not what happened afterwards. And before that it was all about finding a place to stay, not figuring out a way of getting back. I know it's unfair, I know it's incredibly selfish, but that's how it was, and currently is."

That was the most Twilight had heard her friend say in days, and her words hit her like cold sponges. She wasn't hurt, not exactly. She just... didn't understand.

And then as she mulled over the words, a realization hit her.

"Rainbow, you... You don't think you'll die here, do you?"

Her silence was answer enough. Twilight scoffed as quietly as she could.

"But that... that's..."

"Entirely possible? Likely? What happens in a war? Yes."

"I was going to say, 'so unlike you'. And Fluttershy too, come to that."

"She knows I feel like that. She does as well."

If Twilight had been drinking something, she would've given a marvelous demonstration of a fountain producing a fine mist.

"What? Hang on, this is the same Fluttershy we're talking about, right?"

Rainbow Dash sighed, and for the first time she turned her head to look at her. Her expression was softer than anything she'd seen on her these days.

"Twi', you have to realize we've done this before." she said gently. "Saving a kingdom - or retaking it, whatever; in our case it was both - was what we did throughout our adventures. It marked us for life. And we didn't come entirely clean of it, either. We all nearly lost our lives several times, and that was in the Everfree Forest. I thought I'd seen the worst of what dark creatures could throw at us, but I was entirely, dangerously wrong. Since we arrived here we've seen Nazgul, orcs, uruk-hai, cave trolls; we even seen a Balrog, which I gather isn't common occurrence even in this world, and it killed Gandalf. This world, this whole world is like... Like a much, much darker version of the Everfree Forest."

She sighed again and looked up at the stars. Twilight listened in silence.

"The point is, neither you nor us expect to survive this war. We have experience with conflicts, sure, but nothing on a scale like this! It's almost a world-wide war, and all we dealt with in our adventures were small-scale conflicts. We had honorable Royal Guard knights, powerful artifacts, the best rulers, and the love and support of the ponies we swore to protect. It was nothing like this. Sombra and Tirek, the two worst of the worst that Equestria had to offer, they don't hold a candle to what Sauron's throwing at us."

She fell silent. Twilight felt like several windows in her friend's personality had just opened, allowing her to see and understand far more than she usually did.

"These people," Rainbow Dash continued, gesturing at their sleeping non-Equestrian companions, "are the best the kingdoms could gather to save the world, and from what I've seen, I agree with the choice completely. I think it was the right thing to swear to protect Frodo, to help him destroy the Ring. But I also think we seriously misjudged the whole situation, Twilight. It wasn't just a matter of feeling brave or in need of an adventure - or even in need of a tour around the country to find a way home," she said with a small, knowing smile directed at her. "For our new friends it was a decision that shaped their lives, their fate, their world. For us, it was a matter of finding a way home, and helping a friend almost entirely because the two things happened to run parallel to one another."

Twilight absorbed all this in continued silence, and found that in spite of the self-righteous whispers in her mind that they were doing the noble, honorable thing, she couldn't help but agree. Every single of one Rainbow Dash's words was true, and for once she allowed herself to see that. Still, she felt obliged to argue, and there was one thing Rainbow Dash had said she just couldn't agree with in the slightest.

"But if you girls think you won't make it, then what do you think it'll be like for me?"

She knew she probably sounded selfish, but it was the only thing she could think of.

"Or Spike, for that matter? We have no experience at fighting wars whatsoever, and I've made some pretty serious mistakes since we became friends; like the time I wound up brainwashing Ponyville over a homework assignment. Rainbow, all of us are fighters in our own right, pressed into service by circumstance beyond our control, and you've dealt with pretty complicated pride issues during our adventures."

Rainbow Dash cracked a smile at that, but still shook her head.

"Pride," she scoffed slightly, "what good is pride when you're fighting orcs and evil wizards that eclipse everything you've seen before?"

Twilight sat up, scowling, as crossed her front hooves.

"Probably," she muttered. "I might've been able to reject the ring, but I've still got traces of that wicked influence echoing around in my head like a lingering bad odor. Whenever I drop my guard I can practically feel it mocking me for not being able to help Fluttershy and the others. The amount of sense it's making is really uncomfortable at times."

Twilight rolled her eyes. She took Rainbow Dash's hoof firmly and wiggled around so that she sat directly opposite her.

"I want you to promise me something. I want you to ignore the ring, and just stay yourself. It doesn't matter how many friends you may feel the urge to save, or the amount of orcs you feel the absolute need to pulverize, I want you to keep thinking like yourself. I want my friend to stay the way I know she is, and not let a few shrieking black ghosts mollify her opinion of herself or her friends. Can you do that for me?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes were boring into hers, as though they were assessing just how much she meant her words.

"I never would have spoken to Aragorn like that," she said at last.

Twilight resisted the urge to roll her eyes again.

"Well, then, in the morning, go up to him and go like, you know, how you normally do,Hey, man, I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was way beyond my physical capabilities and literally did not mean anything I said. You're a great leader, and everyone here loves you."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow, and Twilight giggled.

"Okay, maybe not that last bit, 'cause there's always a chance he'll take it the wrong way. But do the other stuff, Rainbow. I know you can, and what's more, you know it too."

Rainbow Dash shook her head, but it was a gesture of amused helplessness. She sighed and rubbed her eyes with the heel of her free hoof. With the other one, she squeezed Twilight's.

"Okay. I promise I won't have any more morbid thoughts about our friends and I, and I promise to tell the ring to shove its stupid whispering where the light doesn't shine."

Twilight grinned, and clapped her wither.

"That's my girl! Egh, no. That sounded wrong. Um... I mean, yeah, great! Good on you!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly, and Twilight joined in. It was colder now, the fire having almost completely died down. Rainbow Dash drew her close with her wing, and they leaned against a few of the packs, looking at the stars.

"I think about her all the time, you know," Rainbow Dash told her after a while.

"I know," Twilight answered softly. "You're each other's best friend. It's normal."

Rainbow Dash chortled.

"Well 'Normal' really isn't the word I'd use to describe our friendship. But, yeah. I suppose it is to be expected. It's just..." she shivered a bit. "I can't bear thinking about what she must have endured with those uruks. They were the most disgusting, brutal creatures I'd ever seen - and I've fought changelings. Earlier today... The things that I did say, the things that I wanted to say..." she shuddered "- I know I don't really have an excuse, but it was such torture to think of her, soiled, broken, dead even. I couldn't face it. And I lost it."

Twilight felt Rainbow Dash's chest heave as she took a deep breath, and she did her best not to notice the tell-tale signs that she was crying again. She could only offer warmth, presence, and what little comfort she could give from the first two.

The things that Rainbow Dash had managed to get out during her breakdown, intermingled as she bawled in exhaustion, had certainly been some heinous things under the wrong context; things she never would've expected to come pouring out of her friend. But after what they'd experienced the past three days, it was understandable, and forgivable.

"I know. We all know. You pushed yourself harder than anyone in the past three days. Even Aragorn doesn't hold what you said against you. I have a feeling he knows what grief and worry can be like."

Rainbow Dash considered this for a moment and nodded.

"I imagine he and Arwen must feel like that every time they separate. I heard Elrond say once that he would only give his daughter in marriage to him if he became King of Gondor and Arnor."

Twilight winced. "That's a bit harsh," she mumbled. "I never thought of Elrond as the materialist type."

"I think it has more to do with him wanting only the best for his daughter," Rainbow Dash said wisely. "If Aragorn does become King - scratch that, when he becomes King - and Arwen chooses to marry him, then it means she'll have to give up her immortality. Elrond is scared of losing her, so he wants to make sure he does everything he can for her while he can."

Twilight was stunned. How on Equestria did Rainbow Dash know all this? Her friend grinned, sensing her bemusement.

"We stayed in Rivendell for nearly a month while waiting for Frodo and Fluttershy to recover. Rarity made plenty of friends with the maids, and I may have learned a few things during their gossip sessions."

Twilight snorted. She knew Rarity to be a gossip at heart, however much she denied it. "Figures."

"Alright. That's enough talking for now. I need to get back to keeping watch, and you need to get some more rest," Rainbow Dash stated.

Twilight shook her head in response. "With Saruman possible trolling us, I'm not about to leave you all alone in the dark. I'll stay up and help you keep watch, and I even know a few monitoring spells that'll help with that. With them we'll have an advanced notice if anything in our camp area is out of the ordinary. We'll be able to know if an ant so much as farts."

For the first time in nearly a week, Rainbow Dash gave an honest to goodness laugh in response.

"That's probably way more information than we need, Twi'," she managed to reply as she settled down once again. "But other than that, yeah, that's a good idea. That way Saruman can't sneak in when I'm blinking."

Twilight nodded in agreement, already working on figuring out not only what spells to put in place, but also how to calibrate them for best results. Being able to know what was a mile away from them would certainly give them an early warning, but if it detected the leaves rustling and warned them of that, they'd quickly grow tired of such, and potentially dismiss a vital warning.

Once all that was done, however, she had other plans in mind; plans in the event they had to confront Saruman out here. Based on what she knew, it wasn't going to be easy for any of them; but out of all of them, mostly for Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Unlike the rest of them, they had no weapons to fight with other than their own physical prowess and skill. Against orcs and such that might be sufficient, but against the likes of the white wizard? She shook her head, knowing that it would never be enough. So she was going to do something about that right now.

And seeing as she'd been involved in the creation of these mithril horseshoes since the very beginning, she had a particular idea in mind of just what to do...





The next morning -which actually was only about five hours later- the Fellowship rose and prepared to finally enter Fangorn in search of their companions. Before they left, Rainbow Dash braced herself and formally apologized to Aragorn, and then to Legolas, for everything she had said and done the day before. Man and Elf both graciously accepted her apologies, and assured her they had indeed not held her words against her, knowing that only frustration and grief had spoken.

After a quick breakfast of lembas, dried fruit and water that was for once cold after the chilly night, they set off amongst the twisted and gnarled trees of the forest.

The agreed course of action was to follow the tracks of their companions for as long as possible, at which point they would essentially "make it up as they went along" as Twilight had so eloquently put it.

So they entered the forest of Fangorn, picking their way across gnarled roots, brambles, inconveniently-leveled branches, various snarled twigs, and numerous other hazards in their way. Aragorn and Applejack went first so they could spot any tracks or signs of digression before anyone accidentally stepped on them, closely followed by Legolas.

The air under the trees was so close and still, Twilight honestly felt afraid to breathe, lest she should disturb it. When she inhaled, the air was warm and dry, slightly tainted by the smell of dust and forest ground. Very earthy, but not particularly pleasant for actually breathing.

The further they ventured into Fangorn, the more sporadic became the tracks of their three friends. The lack of penetrating sunlight only added to the forest's already dark and foreboding interior. As the nine entered a moderate sized clearing, Aragorn suggested they spread out to investigate it further. Applejack soon halted when she noticed two large and unusual tracks on the ground. Tracks that reminded her of starfish... but she knew starfish didn't tend to have seven appendages.

"Are these troll tracks, Aragorn?" Applejack asked.

Aragorn walked over and crouched down alongside Applejack. Aragorn's eyes widened at the apple farmer's find.

"These are strange tracks," Aragorn observed to Applejack and himself. "Though I can assure you, Applejack, they weren't made by any troll. Although I have no idea what did make them."

The other members of the Fellowship stood a few paces away.

"I wouldn't have thought Fangorn to be this humid," Boromir commented to them.

"The air is so close in here," Gimli concurred.

"I don't know what that means, but I'll agree with it," Rainbow Dash replied.

"This forest is old, very old," Legolas observed. The Elf seemed to slip into a similar monologue as he did in Lothlorien when describing the surrounding environment. "Full of memory... and anger..."

Legolas had no sooner said these words than a large wooden groan reverberated around the surrounding trees. Gimli, Boromir and Rainbow Dash instinctively taking a defensive position at the threatening sound.

"The trees are speaking to each other!" Legolas exclaimed before noticing the trio's reaction.

Fangorn's response to its latest intruders had also drawn the attention of the Fellowship's Co-Leaders. Like with the Rohirrim, Aragorn felt discretion was the better part of valour. He immediately addressed those of the Fellowship in fighting stance.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Aragorn swiftly grabbed their attention before moving his arm in a downward direction. "Lower your weapons."

As they obeyed Aragorn's command, Legolas further enlightened his companions about the forest around them.

"They have feelings my friends," he referred to the surrounds. "The Elves began it; waking up the trees, teaching them to speak."

"I'm sorry, Legolas," a confused Rarity interrupted. "How could trees even understand what your people said to them, let alone learn how to talk?"

Twilight, was far less unsettled about Fangorn being sentient, as she was too busy being amazed by the idea.

"You shouldn't think all trees to be like Equestria's, Rarity," she spoke up. "Let's not forget about the Tree of Harmony, from which we got the Elements of Harmony. There was a theory that the Tree of Harmony is sentient enough to possibly communicate with speech. And to the best of my knowledge, that theory has yet to be proven as false. Granted it hasn't been proven as anything just yet, but still."

Boromir picked up on the theme by gesturing to the symbol embossed on one of the pair of leather vambraces he wore. "In Gondor, we're proud that our national emblem is the White Tree of Numenor - just like the six pointed star appears to be for Equestria."

"I guess I can see your point," Rarity conceded after absorbing this.

"I myself cannot," Gimli stubbornly insisted. "What do trees have to talk about? Except for the frequency of the rainfall, and perhaps the consistency of squirrel droppings?"

The Fellowship exchanged a short chuckle at Gimli's remark, before Twilight continued discussing national symbols.

"Equestria has stars on its flag," she began correcting Boromir's assumption. "But a star isn't our national emblem."

"What is it then?" a curious Boromir asked.

Before Twilight could answer, Legolas hurriedly spoke in Sindarin to Aragorn with a worried tone in his voice. Aragorn whispered in Sindarin in response. And the response chilled Twilight to her bones.

"What do the pair of you speak of?" Rarity asked, both confused and concerned.

"It's Saruman, he's here!" Twilight stated as she verged on panic.

"Saruman!" Boromir exclaimed in quiet alarm.

"Don't let him know we've seen him," Twilight told the Fellowship. "Where is he, Legolas?"

"Behind that large boulder just to our right," the Elf replied.

This was a very, very bad turn of events, Twilight noted to herself. She hadn't had time to elaborate on what her initial plans had been to the others, so there was no way of giving them a proper briefing. This was going to require what was ultimately Plan B, which she hadn't yet formulated! She was going to need to think quick on this one.

The Fellowship began to surreptitiously draw their weapons in response.

"Do not let him speak," Aragorn warned the group. "Or he will put a spell on us."

"He can try," Rainbow Dash claimed in proud defiance. "I'll have his jaw broken and dislocated before he even gets the first syllable pronounced. That's no way he can keep up with my speed!"

"The rest of us don't have that luxury, Rainbow," Boromir edgily pointed out.

"We must be quick," Aragorn insisted.

"Nono, everyone behind me! Hurry!" Twilight stated anxiously. "Without Gandalf, I'm the only one here that actually has a chance of stopping Saruman. The opening salvo has to be mine," she stated as her wings twitched, her mind racing far faster than a mile a minute as a proverbial hornet's nest buzzed in her head. Various ideas were being formulated, pieced together in chains, only to be discarded as new approaches were organized. "Behind me, hurry! I don't want anyone in the way when this goes off!"

The others looked at once another in uncertainly at Twilight's words, but a silent nod from Applejack indicated that she believed it to be the right course of action. Without word they fell behind Twilight, waiting to see what course of action she had in mind for dealing with their foe.

Twilight, meanwhile, was just about hyperventilating with worry. What she had in mind currently, she hadn't been able to test out before, leaving a large margin of error to be risked. It was entirely based on something she remembered Princess Luna telling her about quite some time ago, but right now she simply couldn't think of anything else. Swallowing anxiously, and trying not to scream in blind panic, she flared her wings, holding the parallel with the ground, before angling them forward at just past a ninety degree angle, as a glow began to emanate from not only her horn, but also all of the tips of her primary feathers; what she had of them anyway.

She could do this, she told herself as she tried to stabilize not only her breathing, but also her aim. She could do this. She could do this. She could do this...

Without warning Saruman had appeared, charging into the clearing, and surrounded by a blinding white glow that completely obscured him from view, while simultaneously blinding the lot of them.

"Saruman!" Twilight bellowed in the Sindarin language. "Eat this!"

All at once the glow erupted into dozens -no, hundreds!- of magical bolts discharging in a rapidly repeating pattern, slamming into Saruman's position, and everything around him! The others had no idea just how strong the blasts really were, but they must've been packing quite the punch. The numerous bolts that weren't making contact with his body, were instead making contact with the trees, rocks, and even ground beyond and around him, knocking the bark right off the trunks as they struck close to the edge, while making holes in the trunks of trees if they struck directly.

None of the Fellowship had any idea what such a technique was called, but it was absolutely awesome to witness!

"Yeah! Give it to him, Twi', show 'im who's boss!" Applejack shouted in excitement.

The demonstration of unrestrained Alicorn power was magnificent to those that were present to witness it. But even with all of its magnificence, it soon became apparent that it was having no effect on Saruman. Though his advance was halted by the barrage, he had summoned a shimmering barrier to protect him against the numerous projectiles, which merely bounced off of its surface as easily as a pebble would against a mountain.

The fact that she'd been so easily no sold just like that, was enough to cause Twilight's attack to stop as her jaw dropped in disbelief. Had she been able to find her voice, she would be cursing in multiple languages right now. But she couldn't get out more than an unintelligible squeak at the moment.

"Screw it, we're on our own," Rainbow Dash commented, realizing that if Twilight couldn't do anything against Saruman, they were on their own. "Break!"

She flew forward fast. As fast as she possibly could. She crossed the distance between them in the span it would take others to process what was going on, and she swung her right hind leg forward with all of her might, intent on making good on her promise of stopping the white wizard from being able to speak even a single word of whatever magic he'd be weaving against them.

But it simply wasn't meant to be. She met no shimmering barricade like last time, but rather was parried by Saruman's staff, and swept aside as easily as trash, being flung into a tree in the process as if it was nothing at all.

Undeterred, Rarity and Legolas were quick to unleash a barrage of arrows, joined by Gimli throwing an axe, and Pinkie hurling the largest rock she could get her hooves on.

But it was all for naught. What didn't burst into flames and turn into ash, simply broke apart before it ever got close to touching Saruman. Even Boromir and Aragorn could do nothing, as they found the hilts of the swords burning like fire in their hands, and were forced to drop them.

"You are tracking the footsteps of a Pegasus, and two young hobbits," the White Wizard said matter-of-fact in a deep baritone voice.

All in the Fellowship were unnerved that their friends were now in Saruman's keeping. Particularly given his likely interest in Fluttershy, and what he would undoubtedly do to her in Isengard.

"Where are they?" Aragorn desperately wanted to know.

"They passed this way recently," the wizard replied.

Maybe she was mishearing things, but Twilight was sure the sound of the wizard's voice was actually changing.

'Saruman' seemed to have an almost cheerful demeanour as he spoke further. "They met someone they did not expect. Does that comfort you?"

Twilight's eyes widened when she realized why the voice seemed so familiar. But it was an impossibility, it had to be! Saruman was supposed to be a master of trickery, that had to be the reason why!

"If you want to comfort us, Saruman, then speak where our friends are, so that we might reunite with them!" Boromir firmly demanded.

Through the blinding white light, the wizard seemed to give a knowing smile in response to Boromir.

"Who are you?" Aragorn asked.

Still smarting at how she'd been bested a few moments ago, Rainbow Dash was, understandable, not in the mood for any games right now. "Show your ugly face, Saruman! Tell us what we wanna know, or so help me, by Celestia's mane, name, and everything in between we'll make you talk!" she practically shrieked.

The wizard passed his staff from his left to right hand, an action that dispelled the light surrounding him. The Fellowship finally beheld the White Wizard's face and appearance, and they were shocked by what they saw.

Aragorn spoke for the whole group gasping. "It cannot be!"





"Oh, come on!"

Twilight marched up in the front of the group, eyes narrowing at the wizard.

"You've got some nerve, mocking us with that disguise!" she shouted angrily.

To simply be having fun at their expense, and letting them know he could reach them at his leisure was bad enough. But to do it while actually wearing the visage of Gandalf just added insult to injury. He had gone one step beyond the necessary evil of being a villain, and into the realm of needlessly cruel. She was going to have none of that. As she stormed forward, her sword erupted to life, the entire surface shimmering as it matched her mood.

"Skulking about in a hat and cloak like that, that was just uncalled for! Take off that disguise, or so help me I'll rend it from your flesh!" she warned and raised her sword, venom lacking her words as she readied herself to unleash total fury upon him.

The figure stepped forward a little, and the white light dimmed completely. He really did look like Gandalf. Staring at his face made Twilight's heart wrench like a sponge being squeezed of any excess water, but she just scowled and glared at the wizard all the harder.

"You have not changed, Princess Twilight." he said, sounding amused.

By Celestia's sun, he even sounded like Gandalf!

"Thanks," Twilight answered automatically as if she was addressing an old friend. "Wait - what? Hey!..."

"But your friend is partly right," the doppelganger continued, looking at each of her companions in turn. "I am Saruman."

"Ha! See? I told y-"

"Or rather, Saruman as he should be."

Twilight faltered. There was something in the old man's eyes, his voice... A sliver of doubt started to make itself known, causing her resolve to falter.

"Hang on... what?"

The man-who-looked-like-Gandalf smiled at her. Legolas knelt, followed by Aragorn, Boromir and Gimli. The others stayed standing and just looked on confused.

"Forgive me," the elf implored. "I mistook you for Saruman."

Twilight was stumped. "But he just said he was..." She stopped, aware she was dangerously close to making a fool of herself. She settled for a safe question.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled again.

"I am the White Wizard, now. Saruman used to be me, but he has failed his duty and embraced the darkness. I have taken his place."

Ah. So not a safe question, as it happened. Twilight stared blankly at the wizard for a second, then realized her truth spell wasn't ringing. She let out an entirely loud gasp and clapped a hoof over her mouth, unable to believe the truth, impossible as it seemed, appeared clear as day.

"Gandalf..." she breathed.

The wizard looked a little taken aback, then thoughtful.

"Gandalf? Yes... that was what you used to call me." His eyes twinkled. "That was my name."

"Gandalf!" Gimli repeated for the sake of it, tears of joy gathering in his small eyes.

"Mithrandir," Legolas murmured, as though to himself.

"My word," Rarity replied breathlessly.

"But... but how!?" Pinkie asked, to which Applejack could only nod.

"We thought you were slain during your fight with the Balrog," stated Boromir who, until now, thought that Fluttershys' killing of the troll was the most astonishing thing he had ever seen one do.

"But... b-but you fell! I couldn't get to you in time!" Rainbow Dash protested. "How're you still alive?"

Gandalf's eyes focused on the darkness of Fangorn behind the Fellowship as he recounted to them what happened when he fell from the Bridge of Khazad-dum.

"I did fall. Through fire and water. We fought far under the living earth, where time is not counted. Ever he clutched me, and ever I hewed him, till at last he fled into dark tunnels. They were not made by Durin’s folk. Far, far below the deepest delving of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he. Now I have walked there, but I will bring no report to darken the light of day. In that despair my enemy was my only hope, and I pursued him, clutching at his heel. Thus he brought me back at last to the secret ways of Khazad-dûm: too well he knew them all. Ever up now we went, until we came to the Endless Stair. From the lowest dungeon to the highest peak, I fought with the Balrog of Morgoth. Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside.

"Darkness took me. And I strayed out of thought and time. Stars wheeled overhead and everyday was as long as a life-age of the earth. But it was not the end. I felt life in me again."

As if to demonstrate, Gandalf hopped down from the boulder and nimbly landed a few feet in front of the Fellowship. Gimli, Legolas, Boromir and Aragorn rose to their feet and joined the others in walking right up to Gandalf with barely restrained joy. Gandalf seemed unaware of all this as he gazed at the ground.

"I've been sent back, until my task is done," he told the Fellowship why he again stood among them. "And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide."

"Turn of the tide' my hoof," Applejack scoffed in good humour. "More like a tidal wave!"

Gandalf and the other Fellowship members had a good laugh at Applejack's observation.

"However you want to call my return, Miss Applejack, we must now leave this place," Gandalf said with a smile.

He turned to get a grey cloak that he had hidden behind the boulder. As Gandalf put it over his white robes, the Fellowship saw it was identical to the one that the Galadhrim had given them before they had left Lothlorien. They concluded the Fellowship weren't the first people that Gandalf had been in contact with since his return as the White Wizard.

"What do you mean, Gandalf?" queried Gimli about his suggestion.

"It means, Master Dwarf," Gandalf explained, "that one stage of your journey is over, another begins. We must ride to Edoras with all speed."

"Edoras?" Gimli repeated in surprise. "That is no short distance!"

"We hear of trouble in Rohan," Aragorn told Gandalf. "It goes ill with the king."

Gandalf grimly agreed. "Yes, and it will not be easily cured."

A perplexed Twilight saw that Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas were beginning to walk southwards out of Fangorn.

"Whoa, wait a minute!" she sharply told them.

Seeing the trio had stopped and was now giving her their attention, Twilight sought to focus their attention on what she considered should be the Fellowship's priority.

"Words can't describe how happy I am you're back, Gandalf. And believe me, as soon as we have a quiet moment, you're going to be subject to a deluge of questions about your return," Twilight prefaced. "But we originally entered Fangorn to find Merry, Pippin and Fluttershy."

"We still don't know their whereabouts or their welfare," Rarity added.

Gandalf gave a soft smile before reassuring the five Equestrians; "The three of them are quite safe. I left them in the care of an old friend of mine who lives in Fangorn."

"You actually have a friend who lives out here in this mess?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused by the idea.

"I am a wizard, Rainbow Dash, I have many friends all over Middle-Earth," Gandalf replied.

Boromir did not doubt this, but still had a nagging doubt that needed resolving. "When I last saw Fluttershy, she'd been badly hurt. How is - "

"Fluttershy is recovering well, Boromir," Gandalf soothed the Gondorian's conscience. The White Wizard then gave Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash a strange look before continuing his statement. "In fact, I think Miss Fluttershy shall soon have a role to play in our journey in more ways than one."

Aragorn leaned towards Gandalf and observed to him. "In one thing you have not changed, dear friend."

"Mm?"

"You still speak in riddles!"

After the pair shared a quiet but knowing laugh, Gandalf addressed the whole group. "It was more than mere chance that brought Merry, Pippin and Fluttershy to Fangorn. A great power had been sleeping here for many long years. Our friends' coming will be like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountain."

"An' we all know how that turned out," Applejack muttered, remembering the struggles on the mountain and Saruman forced them underground into the mines of Moria.

"Something is going to happen that has not happened since the Elder days as well as never before in Arda's history," Gandalf continued with an ineffable air around his words. "The Ents are going to fully waken... and find they are strong."

"What's an Ent?" Rarity asked.

"According to the book I got from Lady Galadriel, an Ent is to trees, what a shepherd is to sheep. Supposedly they keep the forests safe, as well as in check," Twilight explained. Although for it to be a proper explanation, she'd have to consult the tome again, as the passage had only been read in passing.

"They are that, and so much more," Gandalf stated. But now wasn't the time to engage in such a matter, as there were other tasks that laid ahead of them. And now that he thought about it, he couldn't help but imagine what Twilight and her friends would think when they were introduced to Shadowfax.

"Hey, Gandalf, hold up a minute, I need to ask something," Rainbow Dash called as she flew ahead of the wizard and intercepted his path. "The nameless things you were talking about earlier. I know you said you wouldn't talk about them, but... was Yba'sokug there?"





"Do you really think that to be the case?"

By now it was evident that the amount of trust Frodo was willing to invest in Gollum was... concerning. More willing to walk ahead and keep pace with the sinewy thing leading them through the swamp, through the supposed safe route to Mordor.

Sam and Spike, however, didn't. Despite knowing that they needed a guide, neither one of them was willing to just blindly follow Gollum on simple faith alone. They were suspicious of him, his motives, and everything else, and they were willing to stay that way too.

As present they were hanging back a fair distance that allowed them to talk in hushed whispers without alerting their companions, while also allowing them to actually keep an eye on them.

"I'm not gonna discount it as being a possibility," Spike replied as he trudged along. "Tell me it doesn't sound like it makes sense, with how much of himself Sauron put into the creation of the ring."

"I'll admit, it's certainly an interesting, albeit terrifying, theory to consider," Sam admitted, doing his best to stay on what served as dry ground. "I tell you, Spike, there are times I'm scared by how your mind works."

Spike wasn't sure if he should grin or not at that little comment.

"So you really think that smelly little bugger is a... what'd you call it?" Sam asked.

"A horcrux. Soul container, whatever you wanna call it. It's from some fantasy series Twilight discovered in another parallel world, but it's probably a real concept in some world where magic exists," Spike explained as he climbed atop a fallen log. "Gollum had the ring for, what, five hundred years? Who knows what could've happened in that time. Some of Sauron's soul could've bled off into him for all we know."

"... It certainly might explain a few things about him," Sam replied and smirked, uncertain of what else to do in light of such a terrifying theory. If it was indeed possible that Gollum carried a piece of Sauron's essence within him, then what would that mean for Frodo as he carried the ring along himself?

Spike was about to reply, but found himself interrupted by a strong gurgling in his gut, and a rising sensation up his throat. He turned away from Sam just in time to belch up a mess of green flames, and what they'd been bringing with them.

Paper. A whole stack of paper actually. And several feathers that could've only come from Twilight and Rainbow Dash. And a glass vile filled with a black substance that looked suspiciously like ink.

"What just happened?" Sam asked, still surprised by the jet of flames he'd just witnessed.

"Stationary," Spike explained as Frodo and Gollum were making their way back. "It looks like Twilight found a way to get in touch with us. Maybe it's an update on the others."

"Well that'd certainly been good. I was beginning to get worried." Sam stated.

Spike picked up the bundle of paper to thumb through it, looking for a letter from Twilight, but ultimately found nothing. It was just a stack of about a hundred sheets of blank paper, with nothing written anywhere. He was about to ask out loud what the deal was, but refrained when the stack started glowing.

All at once the pages flew from his claws, swept up in some undetected wind, all whirling about overhead in a veritable maelstrom of chaos, inner and outer layers moving in every which direction high above, and swooping down below as they fell into a disorganized clump.

No... no it wasn't a clump, there was a structure and order to them. As Spike and the others alternated between watching and hiding, they began to realize that a form was, well, forming in front of them, as the sheets twisted and folded by some unknown plans that were wholly alien in nature.

Just as soon as it had begun, the process had come to an end, leaving behind what looked like a horse-shaped statue. But upon closer inspection Spike realized that it wasn't horse-shaped, but rather Twilight-shaped, looking like a life sized, 3D polygon mesh rendering of her.

"What was that all about?" Frodo finally asked, unsure of whether to approach, or stay far away from what he was witnessing.

As the paper pony appeared to move under its own apparent power, he decided to stay back, Gollum right behind him.

"Twilight?" Spike finally asked, not sure of what else to do.

The paper pony turned its head in Spike's direction, and he could see outlines of what he could only assume were its eyes, as well as its mouth. And the mouth was currently smiling!

"Spike! Oh it's so good to see you, I've been so worried!" it spoke, perfectly conveying Twilight's voice in the process.

"Same," Spike replied, before deciding to get to the heart of the manner. "What's all this about?"

"Oh, right! There's big news on our end, Spike, and I just had to relay it back to you and the others," Twilight explained quickly. "First and foremost, Fluttershy and the others are safe. Gandalf reports that they're with friends of his."

"Gandalf!?" Spike, Sam and Frodo asked in almost perfect unison.

Twilight nodded enthusiastically. "I don't understand how it happened, but he survived the fall back in Moria. Not only that, but he's been promoted to being the new white wizard."

Frodo was overjoyed by this sudden news. Immediately one could tell his spirits lifted and his mood brightened, his burden of the ring temporarily forgotten about. He was so overjoyed he found it necessary to make it known, as he made his way over to where Sam stood, the two locking hands and jumping about in what could only be described as a dance.

Spike just shook his head and smiled, before turning back to face Twilight's paper form. "So does that mean you and the others are on your way to Mordor? Are we gonna meet up soon?" he asked.

"Um... not yet. Sorry. Gandalf says we need to head to the kingdom of Rohan to clear up a small issue there. But we should be able to meet up with you soon after that. I'd say no more than three or four days at the most, depending on how smoothly long-range group teleportation goes," Twilight explained. "We should even be able to procure some fresh supplies for the journey. Meat, fruit, vegetables, maybe even some quartz if they have any."

Spike was licking his lips at hearing this bit of good news. "That's great to hear."

"I'll say it is, I was getting tired of nothing but straight lembas bread!" Sam stated, practically laughing as the prospect of fresh food again.

"So why the paper pony approach?" Spike asked. The good news was exciting to receive and all, but once the excitement had started to wane, his mind immediately started going over various things that simply didn't make sense. "I mean, this could've just been covered in a letter, right? And for that matter, where'd you get all the paper anyway?"

"Well I had to make the paper myself from a downed tree, which really isn't as easy as it sounds. The ink was another matter, and the less said on that the better," Twilight explained, a frown crossing her paper features. "As to why this as opposed to a latter? Because I wanted to make sure you were all alright, and a letter can only do so much. So I decided to use one of Haycarte's more advanced spells and... well you get the idea. But now that I know you're alright, we can establish back and forth communication until we meet up again."

Before more could be said on the issue, the left foreleg of Twilight's paper form disintegrated into ash right where it stood. Even Twilight herself noticed this development and scowled as she looked down.

"Oh dear. I was afraid of that. I don't think the quality of paper can withstand the amount of magic needed to hold this form for very long. I'm unfortunately going to have to cut this meeting short."

Much as Spike didn't want to, he understood that he'd have to stop talking with Twilight. If the magic being used to keep the communication open was destroying the paper, he'd have no way of writing Twilight back.

"Alright then. I guess we'll see you when we see you," he replied and waved goodbye, thankful they'd been able to talk once again.

Twilight would've waved as well, but quickly realized that having only one leg to stand on made that difficult.

"Oh! Spike, before I forget, could I trouble you to send a few of your scales back to us?" she asked.

"My... scales?" Spike asked, confused.

Twilight nodded quickly. "Just in case. Sauron and Saruman have forces all over Middle-Earth, and if we wind up running into anymore of them along the way, having the polymorph spell and the ability to turn us all into dragons could be very beneficial," she explained.

Now it was Spike's turn to nod as he understood what Twilight was talking about. Considering he could take an arrow to the skull and just have it bounce off, they'd probably be better off if they could slip into similar physical characteristics if needed.

"Yeah, yeah I can do that. I'll send them right out," he replied.

Twilight smiled at this, just before her form came apart, sheets of paper fluttering to the ground, with some remaining intact while others crumbled to ash upon contact. It was disheartening for Spike to watch Twilight just disappear in such a manner, but her understood that she had little choice in the matter. He just... wished she could've stayed for a little longer. It'd been so long since he'd last heard her voice.

All throughout the display of magic that wasn't understood, Gollum observed from where he currently hid. All the while not liking it one bit. More would be coming in a matter of days. The Precious would have to be retrieved in short order by then, otherwise... the less thought on that, the better. It would simply be necessary to step up the plan somewhat, if the desired results were to be had.

The hobbits, they would be easy enough to deal with, there was certainly to that. But as for Spike... Master Dragon presented his own challenges that wouldn't be so easily overcome. That was going to require an entirely different approach. There would be much risk to be had in attempting such. But to have the Precious once again.

Yes. It could be done. Yes. It would be done...
> The Burden of Kingship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


The Burden of Kingship


The atmosphere surrounding Fellowship Team Alpha was significantly improved over what'd been experienced the past few days. Gandalf was back among them. Merry, Pippin and Fluttershy were confirmed as being out of danger, and among capable allies. And they had managed to establish contact with Spike, Sam and Frodo once again, and inform them of what the current state of affairs was.

All in all, the situation for them was looking up. Or at least as up as could be expected under the present circumstances, of the fate of the world resting on them. But at the moment that was neither here nor there. Right now the present task was much, much easier to address, and simply involved liberating a kingdom from the poisonous subterfuges of a corrupt malcontent.

Compared to the former, the latter task would be like a walk in the park for the majority of their little group. Having faced so many other threats already, it was hard to get too excited over having to save Rohan.

The sense of urgency that'd weighed so heavily on them the past three days was absent on the present night, giving way to a far more restful measure of sleep for seven of their group as they rested around a campfire.

Gimli, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Boromir welcomed the opportunity to have more than the two or three hours of sleep they had been allowed over the last few days. And the change in atmosphere had done wonders for restoring Pinkie's carefree nature.

Despite not needing as much sleep due to his elven physiology, even Legolas was not entirely immune from the need to do so, and was having trouble resisting the alluring, siren-like call of rest. Rainbow Dash and Applejack weren't faring much better either. Legolas, Rainbow Dash and Applejack followed the others in closing their eyes for a brief respite.

Twilight was an exception to the unspoken rule that was making itself known. Ever since becoming an Alicorn, the need for sleep was felt lesser by her. Granted if she had good reading material to focus on, she could stay awake for days at a time and not notice it, even back when she was a Unicorn. But right now her focus was on patrolling the immediate area, and making sure their campsite was secured for the evening, lest they discover any unwanted visitors.

She had just returned to the campsite from looking around the far end of the perimeter, when she noticed Gandalf standing a few yards with Aragorn to the wizard's right. They both appeared to be in conversation while looking at a dim, but angry red glow far to the eastern horizon. Even as she approached them, she could already hear their muffled conversation. And she really didn't care for what she was hearing.

"The veiling shadow that glowers in the east takes shape," Gandalf muttered. "Sauron will suffer no rival. From the summit of Barad-dur, his Eye watches ceaselessly. But he is not so mighty yet that he is above fear. Doubt ever gnaws at him. The rumor has reached him..."

Gandalf then turned to Aragorn and said, "...the heir of Numenor still lives."

This new revelation surprised Aragorn. He had thought -even hoped- that Sauron would never find out about him. But such was apparently no the case.

"Sauron fears you, Aragorn. He fears what you may become..." Gandalf continued, before turning to acknowledge Twilight's presence. "And despite your attentions of finding a way home Twilight... Sauron fears you as well. You may not be of Numenor lineage, but you are prepared to stop Sauron, as well as help Aragorn unite all Men against him, are you not?"

"Without a doubt," Twilight replied, not even having to think on the matter. They were in the thick of it now, and she could say with confidence that not a single one of them would abandon their friends. No matter what they'd be facing, they'd be seeing it through to the end. "Nightmare Moon feared us in much the same way. Just the fact that Sauron fears us makes me feel better. He wouldn't be fearing us if he didn't believe we were a threat to him."

"Of course," Gandalf verified, "and with anyone with a will to stop all evil, Sauron will not take you lightly as an unknown anomaly, Twilight. You dared to challenge him directly, in open defiance of his rule. Such is not something he will be able to let go of."

Twilight slowly nodded in agreement. "Good then."

"And so," Gandalf explained further, "he'll strike hard and fast at the world of Men. He will use his puppet, Saruman, to destroy Rohan. War is coming. Rohan must defend itself and therein lies our first challenge, for Rohan is weak and ready to fall..."

"It's really that bad?" Twilight asked.

Gandalf nodded. "The king's mind is enslaved, it's an old device of Saruman's. His hold over King Theoden is now very strong. Sauron and Saruman are tightening the noose. But... for all their cunning, we have one advantage..."

Gandalf paused for a moment, then turned to face both Twilight and Aragorn as he continue. "The ring remains hidden."

"I'm afraid we'll have to disagree on that point, Gandalf. We have several advantages," Twilight retorted. "Sure, the ring remains hidden, but there's more than that. First, Spike is with Sam and Frodo, putting them at better odds. Second, we know for a fact that they're still well. Third, you're actually back, leading to point number four, neither Sauron nor Saruman know about your promotion. And fifth, Sauron hasn't seen the full extent of what we can do currently, and there's still much more yet to come. He doesn't have a clue what he's going to be dealing with, either now or later on."

Try as he might, Gandalf really couldn't find fault with Twilight's assessment of the situation. It was hard to deny that they were in far better standing with their Equestrian allies present than they would be on their own.

"I will stand against Sauron until my last breath," Aragorn stated. "But not as King of Gondor. I've never wanted that power."

"You know," Twilight started, "you're not exactly alone in this regard, Aragorn. I wasn't exactly given a choice in becoming royalty; that decision was made for me long ago. And in the beginning I was really hesitant about my role as a future ruler on Equestria. Becoming a new species and having to deal with all those quirks didn't exactly help either."

Both Gandalf and Aragorn looked at Twilight who continued looking eastwards as she spoke, addressing them in more a general manner rather than directly.

"I was a librarian before, and I was quite happy with that role in life. If I'd been given the choice initially, I would've chosen to continue being a librarian to this day. But, shortly after my coronation, we had a minor crisis that incapacitated both Princess Celestia and Luna simultaneously, and suddenly I found everyone looking to me for guidance and orders. And then I realized that being royalty really isn't that much different from simply being competent, and knowing what you're doing when others don't."

She then turned to face them once again, but more specifically Aragorn.

"I've seen and noticed the way others respond to you, Aragorn. Shortly after my coronation, Princess Celestia once told me that I was born to be a leader. The same applies to you. You shouldn't so easily walk away from that, if that's what's required to defeat the evil that threatens this world," she pointed out, before finally shrugging her withers in conclusion. "Ultimately, you'll have to decide what's for the best. But if you choose not to take your place as ruler, don't pretend that you're doing such for the benefit of the Free People of Middle Earth. If you don't wish to be King, admit to it up front."

Aragorn turned his gaze downwards as he contemplated the words of advice he'd been offered up, likely not expecting a parallel to be drawn between them.

Twilight then saw in Gandalf's eyes a gleam of appreciation for what she had just said. Which was good and all, but right now she'd much rather change the topic, before Aragorn tried to bring his family into the discussion for a compare and contrast. She'd crush him in that one as well, but she'd rather avoid that.

"So that glow coming from the east. That's from Mount Doom?" she asked.

"Yes, Twilight," Gandalf confirmed. "The weapon of the enemy moving towards Mordor in the hands of a Hobbit. Each day brings it closer to the fires of the mountain in which it was forged."

"I can't even begin to imagine what Frodo and the others must be going through right now. Just like I can't help but feel like we've got the easier task to deal with," Twilight mumbled in reflection. As much work as had been needed to send Spike the communication supplies, exchanges would be limited at best until they could join up once again.

"We must trust now in Frodo," Gandalf stated in reply. "Everything depends upon speed and the secrecy of his quest." Noticing Aragorn and Twilight's troubled looks, he continued. "Neither of you should regret the decision to let him depart. Frodo must finish this task alone."

"Then he may have difficulty with such, as both Sam and Spike are with him," Aragorn quipped.

"They'll figure it out," Twilight replied, "I hope..."





"I hate this place. It's too quiet," Sam muttered as they trudged along. "There's been no sight nor sound of so much as a bird for two days."

"No, no birdses to eat..." Gollum said sadly. "No crunchable birdses." Spike and Frodo exchanged odd and disgusted looks. "Oh, we are famished, we are! Famished we are, Precious!"

Suddenly, his face lit up. With a grunt, Gollum plunged his fist into the water... and pulled out a worm.

"Oh no. He's not going to..." Spike turned a little green at the thought of what was about to unfold.

"Yes, he is." Frodo mumbled as Gollum popped the worm into his mouth and swallowed it with glee.

Sam, who'd been about to take a bite of lembas, calmly lowered it back into the pack and swallowed hard.

Frodo broke off a piece of his lembas bread and tossed it to Gollum. "Here."

Gollum's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he caught the piece. "What- What does it eats? Is it tasty?" He inquired.

"It's lembas." Sam said flatly. To someone who'd been eating it for weeks straight, it was all the explanation needed. For one who hadn't however... "It certainly beats the rocks that Spike's been chewing on."

Taking the explanation for what it was, Gollum popped it into his mouth and chewed. Almost immediately he gagged and spit it back out.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" Spike protested. But Gollum ignored him in favor of his general brand of theatrics.

"It tries to chokes us! We can't eats Hobbit food!" he protested as he made a show of trying to remove the traces from his tongue.

"Actually, it's Elf food." Spike said with a small smirk.

Gollum threw his head back, and, once again, wailed in an overly dramatic fashion. "We must starve!"

Sam had little sympathy for the theatrics of their traveling companion. "You honestly make no sense. All this perfectly edible food that we've got, and you'd prefer to starve simply because you don't like it."

"I'm starting to think he just likes to complain about stuff," Spike added with a growl.

"Oh, cruel Hobbit... cruel, impulsive dragon!" Gollum whined, glaring at Sam and Spike.

"That's Master Dragon!" Spike stated.

"They does not care if we be hungry. Does not care... if we should die!" Gollum continued, paying no heed to Spike's interruption.

Obviously -and blatantly- not paying Gollum's rantings of any mind or consequence, Sam held out a piece of lembas, which he popped into his mouth with exaggerated relish, just to annoy their noisy companion.

Gollum grumbled in disgust, before turning to Frodo, and slowly approached him, changing his expression as he faced him...

"...Not like master," he said, lovingly, as Frodo began to glance at him, cautiously, "master cares... master knows... yes, precious," Gollum cooed in confirmation, as his intent gaze moved to where the Ring lay hidden under Frodo's shirt and a terrible hunger glowed within him...

Gollum had something akin to sympathy in his eyes, and Spike wondered if Gollum had always been... well,Gollum.

"Once it takes hold of us... It never lets go..."

To Spike's alarm, Gollum's hand reached, shakily, out towards Frodo's chest. Frodo snapped back to clear reality just in time to swat Gollum's hand away.

"Don't touch me!" He snapped. Gollum, shocked, sunk away, looking dejected. It seemed he hadn't realized what he was doing as he'd done it. Still, though, Spike realized that this was Frodo's greater reason for not trusting Gollum... and pitying him at the same time. It wasn't Gollum's fault that he was so drawn to the Ring - it was simply the effect the Ring had on its bearer. A rather frightening concept.

Despite being kept on a tight leash, metaphorically speaking, Gollum was scary, and clearly ill with his obsession with the Ring. So what was Frodo's fate to be if it continued to remain in his possession much longer?

"You and I may need to take turns carrying the ring," he mumbled to Sam.

"We might indeed," Sam agreed, before focusing his attention back on the "meal" at hand. "I tell you, Spike, I hope Twilight was right about getting some fresh food for the journey."

"I don't know why she wouldn't be," Spike replied. As a dragon he might be able to eat a lot of things, but even he needed some variety.

Plus it could earn them some much-needed relief from Gollum's grumbling.





As they traveled into the darker, foggier places of the swamp, Spike observed small fires in select parts of the bog, lit on the moss and weedy grass. He studied one for a long, contemplative moment, until something else drew his eye- something in the water... It looked like... But it couldn't be...

Without warning he shrieked at the realization.

Sam, Frodo and Gollum all jumped and whirled around at the sudden sound. "Spike? What is it?"

"There are dead people down there!" He screamed.

Gollum looked panicked in turn.

"Quiet, Master Dragon, quiet! We must be quiet!" He urged him. "Mustn't make more noise than we haves to!"

"Oh that's real rich coming from you. That's the pot calling the kettle black if I ever heard it," Spike cried as he tried to get his breathing under control.

"Gollum, whatarethose?" Frodo whispered, staring in horror at the blotchy blue faces that stared up from underneath the surface of the water.

Gollum hacked. "All dead, all rotted. Elves and Men and Orcses. A great battle, long ago. The Dead Marshes- that is their name."

"You could've mentioned that before!" Spike pressed, before taking Frodo's arm and making it a point to stay near him, all the while fighting back the urge to vomit. "A small warning about the dead bodies would have been nice."

"They's not dangerous,gollum,gollum. As long as you don't follow the lights. This way, this way..." Sam stumbled, his foot landing into the water. Gollum whipped around and gave them a stern look. "Careful now! Or Hobbits and dragon go down to join the dead ones and light little candles of their own!"

Spike released Frodo's arm to help Sam out of the water. "It's disgusting," Sam muttered. "I don't even want to know what's swimming down there. All sorts of nasty things- Bogs are bad enough without dead bodies everywhere in them." Sam brushed some oddly colored grass off his pant leg. "I suppose they're not so bad if you don't think about them."

Spike nodded vaguely. "All the same, I don't like them, and I don't want to be around them. Right Fro- FRODO!"

Much to his horror, he'd turned to see Frodo being dragged under the surface of the water by... something.

"Oh just great!"

Knowing what had to be done, Spike dove into the water after Frodo, desperate to get him back before whatever else was to be found in there could have a crack at him.

Sam was on the verge of panicking, as well as on the verge of diving in the water after them. He was already making his way to the edge of the water when he felt his shoulder being roughly grabbed.

"Fat Hobbit no can swim - will only get hisself in the way," Gollum stated.

He then proceeded to give a strangulated yell, and dive into the water himself, leaving a very worried -and confused- Sam behind to wonder just what had happened.





The same day, those of Fellowship Team Alpha had finally reached their destination when Gandalf said they would.

Edoras was built on a lone foothill with the mountain range known as the 'White Mountains' to its south, surrounded by a circular wooden wall and was accessed by a large, double wooden gate on its north face. Within the wall there were a large number of wooden and thatched buildings of various sizes. At the top of the hill was a great wooden hall that Twilight assumed to be the city's administrative centre. In that construction regard, Edoras was at least somewhat similar to Equestria, with Canterlot being near the top of a mountain.

"Twi', did ya notice what Ah noticed on the way in?" Applejack asked.

"What's that?" Twilight asked as she redirect her attention towards her friend.

"On this whole trip, Ah haven' seen even one farm er even field around the outside o' the city."

Now that Applejack mentioned it, she honestly didn't remember seeing any signs of agriculture to Edoras. It was certainly a mystery, but she didn't have a clue as to what it meant. At the moment all she could do was hope this didn't mean that replenishing their supplies would be impossible.

"Maybe it's a seasonal thing? Back home it would almost be winter by now," she mentioned.

"Edoras and the Golden Hall of Meduseld," Gandalf confirmed to his companions. "There dwells Theoden, King of Rohan, whose mind is overthrown. Saruman's hold over King Theoden is now very strong."

"Then we'll just have to see about fixing that. There's just one thing I don't understand, Gandalf," Twilight queried. "Theoden's mind is possessed, his heir's apparently incapacitated, and Eomer's in exile. Who's exactly in charge now? Why aren't they standing up to Saruman?"

"Power in Edoras now resides with the King's Chief Counsellor, Grima Wormtongue," Gandalf stonily advised. "Himself also but a puppet of Saruman. He ensures that the Uruk-hai and Wild men in Saruman's service remain unchecked as they pillage the Riddermark."

"I would have thought his last name would have been an obvious warning not to employ this 'Wormtongue' to such high office," Rarity observed.

"He was not always known as such, Rarity," Aragorn explained.

Rarity looked at Aragorn in disbelief. "Wait. You mean he actually changed his name TO Wormtongue? By choice? Goodness, what sort of name was he born to that would motivate a change like that?"

The question was certainly a good one. But answers apparently weren't had, as the matter had already been moved beyond.

"Never underestimate the actions a person will take from a sense of unrequited love," Gandalf reflected. "Whatever the case, all of you be careful what you say. Do not look for welcome here."

The other Fellowship members followed Gandalf's lead towards Edoras. As they approached the city's gates, the girls noticed a dusty road leading from the gate heading westwards. The road passed between two lines of small barrows leading outwards from the gate. Nine barrows were to the west of the road and seven were on the east. Barrows that reminded Twilight of ancient burial mounds in historical records.

When the Fellowship reached the city gate, Gandalf was the first to greet the sentries atop it. "My friends and I wish to speak with the Lord of the Mark!"

"Apologies, Mithrandir," the chief sentry responded upon having finally recognized the White Wizard. "It is the will of King Theoden that none should enter into Edoras. The only exceptions are the Eorlingas, and our friends that come from Mundburg in the land of Gondor."

"Mundburg's another name for Minas Tirith," Boromir stated in a tone that would brook no argument. "As I happen to be Captain of the White Tower, our company should be allowed to enter!"

Like Eomer a couple of days before; the sentry cursed himself for not noticing the Fellowship had the Son of the Steward in its number.

"Forgive me for not recognizing you, Lord Boromir," the sentry apologized before hastily commanding the gate to open.

As the city gates opened with a deep wooden creak, the Fellowship noticed a green banner with a white horse emblem sailing over the wall. The banner came to rest just to their right. Rainbow Dash walked away from the horse Boromir rode on and grabbed the banner, before rejoining his side. As the Fellowship passed through the gates, Rainbow Dash passed the banner to another Rohirrim sentry, who accepted it while giving her a strange look.

As the Fellowship rode through the main street of Edoras towards the Golden Hall, the atmosphere that pervaded the city was one silent and sombre. Edoras' current population, as far as their eyes could see, appeared to comprise entirely of women, children and elderly men that warily stared at the Fellowship as they progressed through the city. But considering half of their party was made up of pastel-colored ponies, it was hard to blame them for staring.

Black seemed to be the predominant colour of clothing - either in mourning at the loss of their menfolk in war, or perhaps symbolically mourning the demise in Rohan's fortunes. The look on the residents' faces reminded Pinkie of her childhood back at her family's rock farm.

Gimli succinctly summed up the general mood of Edoras with but a single sentence. "You'll find more cheer in a graveyard."

The horrible part about his assessment, was that it was accurate enough that no rebuttal could be found.

As the Fellowship approached the Golden Hall, something stuck out against the drab scenery that caught Rainbow Dash's eye; a young woman in a white dress standing on its front porch. A woman with long, wheaten-coloured hair and seemed to be observing the approaching Fellowship with something far different than what was expressed by the rest of the citizenry.

"Who is that?" she asked Boromir with a whisper.

"The Lady Eowyn, Eomer's sister," Boromir informed her. "I've never exchanged more than common courtesies with her in the handful of times I've met her. Much to her brother's chagrin, Eowyn's a renowned Shield-maiden."

"She can fight?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Boromir shook his head. "Eomer tells me that his sister is yet to taste combat despite her requests to do so. I think he and King Theoden would prefer to keep it that way."

"I can't really say I blame them, as small as she looks," Rainbow Dash muttered.

Eowyn had retreated back inside by the time the Fellowship reached the stairs leading up to the Golden Hall. As the non-pony members of the Fellowship dismounted, Twilight noticed the intricate wooden carvings of horses on the outside of the Meduseld. So much of what she had seen of Rohan and its people reminded her of old Scandinavia, during her history class back when she and Spike were on the other side of the mirror the first time around, that the similarities could surely not be just a matter of pure coincidence. If... WHEN she visited CHS again, she would investigate this seeming link between Rohan and the culture she had read on.

The Fellowship members reached the top of the stairs with Twilight, Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas and Boromir in front and Gimli, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity behind. They were soon met by a group of half a dozen soldiers in ranks of three by two. Unlike the composition of Eomer's eored, these Rohirrim had a standard uniform and armour. They wore a sleeveless, full-length scale hauberk as well as a fine wool cloak dyed green and edged with a red and gold pattern. Five of these Rohirrim wore a helmet featuring a visor with cutouts for the eyes and a tall metal crest of a horse's head from which flowed a mane of horsehair.

Given their high quality armour as well as fine weapons they seemed to be carrying, Twilight had no doubt these soldiers had to be members of the King's Royal Guard.

The only one of the six soldiers not wearing a helmet stood in the middle of the front row. He had a thick head and beard of red hair and was quite broad at the chest. Gandalf's eyes twinkled as soon as he caught sight of this man.

"Hama!" Gandalf cried in friendly recognition. "It's an honour to be met by no less than the Captain of the Royal Guard."

Hama gave an awkward smile in response before replying. "It is good to see you again, old friend."

His attention then turned to the others that were present. More specifically, Twilight and her friends.

"From whence did you come into acquisition of such strange and fantastical creatures such as these? Are they a gift to the King?"

Rainbow Dash growled in response, already spoiling for a fight at the evaluation of being a gift.

"My friends and I aren't gifts! We're here to seek an audience with King Theoden," Twilight stated firmly, before Rainbow Dash had the chance to say something of her own that might make the situation worse. "As to from where we hale, it's a location your cartographers have never heard of. I can guarantee as much."

Hama, much like the rest of the soldiers in the Royal Guard, were taken aback at being confronted by talking ponies. But they showed professionalism in their position, and quickly regained their composure. So Gandalf stepped in to continue.

"She speaks the truth, Hama. It is imperative that we be granted an audience with the King at once."

"Perhaps. But I cannot allow you before Theoden-King so armed, Gandalf Greyhame." Seeing a number of the Fellowship respond with furrowed brows at this announcement, Hama sought to apologize by way of explanation. "By order of Grima Wormtongue."

The way Hama spoke Wormtongue's name through clenched teeth left little doubt what he thought of the Chief Counsellor. Gandalf gave an understanding nod before handing over Glamdring in its scabbard.

"Come on the rest of you," Gandalf prompted the rest of the Fellowship. "We're among friends here."

"A most unusual bunch o' friends if ya ask me," Applejack muttered.

The front rank of the Fellowship handed over their weapons before Aragorn and Boromir stepped back to let the back rank comply. Gimli reluctantly handed his numerous axes over, while Rarity handed over her sword, bow and arrows. Twilight, Applejack and Rainbow Dash, possessing nothing that readily resembled a weapon, were permitted to opt out of such.

When it came to Pinkie, however, it was a significantly different matter. Her sling was surrendered, as was a pointed granite rock roughly the size of a grapefruit. And an axe. And a curved knife. And a sword of orcish design. And a sturdy looking padlock tied to the end of a rope. And several other implements that she was basically pulling out of her mane now, much to the disbelief of the guards who were tasked with gathering her gear. The look of confusion at being handed a slingshot would've been humorous under different circumstances.

"Pinkie," Twilight finally spoke up, "where did you get all of that stuff?"

"Around," Pinkie replied and shrugged, before pulling out a... Twilight didn't even know what that thing was... and giving it over to one of the guards who was even more perplexed at what he was holding now.

Twilight almost asked about why she'd been carrying so much stuff, and how she'd been carrying it, but stopped herself just short of doing such. Sometimes it was simply better to not know. She'd just take it as a sign that Pinkie was feeling better.

As they were involved with such, Hama noticed that Gandalf was still holding his staff.

"Your staff," Hama hinted to the wizard.

Twilight, who'd just finished subtly casting a protection spell on their gear to ensure it didn't disappear on them, now stood behind Hama. The fact that he recognized Gandalf's staff for what it was, was commendable, but currently unacceptable. Unlike her, Gandalf had no natural conduit for utilizing his magic, and if he didn't have his staff, he wouldn't be able to free King Theoden. That simply wouldn't do at all.

"Surely you can't be serious!" she objected firmly.

Coming to know Gandalf over the course of their journey, Twilight had come to discover he had a certain... paternal element about him, sort of like a grandfather. And that aspect of his character had quickly set her mind about formulating a response to Hama simply trying to follow his orders.

"Is the kingdom of Rohan so suspicious, that it would actually deny an old man his walking stick? What sort of paranoia is this? Where will this madness end? Will you next insist on cutting off our hooves? Chopping off my horn?"

The look on Hama's face at being red the riot act by Twilight was of such, that Gimli was having to fight to keep his composure and not burst into laughter at the Captain of the Guard being taken to task by a pony, and being unable to amount a defense at the tongue lashing she was delivering. Boromir wasn't faring much better, and looked like he was going to shit his pants if he had to maintain proper decorum much longer.

Finally Hama seemed to relent at this and allowed Gandalf to keep his staff, if for no other reason than to simply make Twilight shut up, and avoid losing anymore face in front of his men.

Legolas offered Gandalf his right arm to lean on as if to underline the Wizard's supposed frailty. Hama then began to lead the Fellowship into the Meduseld. As Gandalf passed by Twilight, the pair exchanged a quick wink in understanding. The Fellowship entered the Golden Hall through a pair of ancient wooden doors. After standing aside for the Fellowship, Hama stood next to his second in command, Gamling, a thin man with a light brown beard.

The inside of the hall was a study in contrasts. The craftsmanship of the Hall was impressive with it being long and wide, its wooden walls standing on a smooth stone floor. There were intricately carved wooden columns to its left and right upholding its lofty roof. Banners and tapestries of Rohirrim and their horses adorned the walls. But for all that craftsmanship, the hall's atmosphere was dark and gloomy befitting a tomb. Nor was the atmosphere solely due to the interior's apparent lack of light.

At the opposite end of the hall was a dais atop three steps. In the middle of the dais was a gilded wooden throne. Sitting on the throne was Rohan's current ruler. Theoden's appearance, however, was anything but regal. The King was a withered old man with heavily wrinkled skin, straggly grey hair and eyes that looked to be blinded with cataracts. Rainbow Dash thought the best description of Theoden's apparent state of health was 'zombie'. Sitting left of Theoden on a simple wooden stool was a man almost equally pale in colour wearing a heavy black ermine robe. The man had greasy shoulder length hair and cold blue eyes. For those in the Fellowship who had never seen him, they all concluded this man had to be Grima Wormtongue.

As they approached, it was noticed by all that the supposed Wormtongue whispered something into Theoden's ear; more than likely a preemptive attack in the making.

"The courtesy of your hall is somewhat lessened of late, Theoden-King," Gandalf commented to their host.

Gandalf released his hand from Legolas' arm and began to walk by himself towards Theoden. The rest of the Fellowship fell in behind the Wizard, with Boromir and Applejack the two leftmost of Gandalf.

"To our left and right," the Gondorian said to the Apple Farmer.

Not moving her head, Applejack quickly glanced at the hall's columns left and right. They were being shadowed by a group of five burly men on either side. More likely than not, these ten men were Wormtongue's hired thugs.

"Ah don' see a problem. Jus' a bunch o' vermin skitterin' about," an untroubled Applejack replied.

After Wormtongue whispered something in his ear, Theoden craggily laboured out the first thing they'd head since arriving. "Why should I... welcome you, Gandalf... Stormcrow?"

"A just question, my liege," Wormtongue agreed before rising to his full height of 5'4". Walking towards Gandalf, Grima sneered at him, "Late is the hour in which this conjurer chooses to appear. 'Lathspell' I name him. Ill news is an ill guest!"

The Wizard didn't falter an inch as Grima blocked his path. If anything he rose in response.

"Be silent!" Gandalf sternly rebuked his accuser. "Keep your forked tongue behind your teeth. I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm!"

It was then that Gandalf raised his staff.

"His staff," Grima nervously gulped before raging at the individual who'd disobeyed his orders. "Traitor, Hama. I told you to take the wizard's staff!"

At Grima's signal, his thugs rushed to disarm Gandalf. The rest of the Fellowship moved to intercept them. Gamling began drawing his sword out of concern for Theoden's safety, but Hama instantly stayed his subordinate's hand and shook his head.

Despite his earlier demeanor, Hama wasn't the least bit fooled by Twilight's bluff about Gandalf's staff being just a walking stick. He had heard the tales about the wonders the wizard had performed over many long years with his staff. By allowing Gandalf to keep his staff, he had hoped that the Wizard would be able to free Theoden of the evil magic that Saruman and Wormtongue had cast over the King. When he first entered the Royal Guard, like all its members, Hama swore an oath that he would value the King's life above his own at all times. As Captain, that oath meant more to Hama now than when he first swore it. If the price of freeing Theoden was forfeiting his own life, he felt he was doing no less than what his oath required of him.

Wormtongue watched in dismay as his thugs proved to be no match for the Fellowship. More accurately, no match for its five colorful ponies who immediately leapt into action. The one with a snow-white coat and purple mane effortlessly picked up a thug in an aura of sapphire before throwing him into a column with a loud thud. The one in the cyan blue coat, wings and rainbow colored mane had the reflexes of a cat as she nimbly dodged intended blows, and responded with flying kicks that knocked her attackers flat with but a single blow. The pink one... Grima didn't even know how to describe the takedown that he'd just seen. The four other Fellowship members barely had to be involved at all to stop any thugs from reaching Gandalf as he approached Theoden.

When Wormtongue saw Rainbow Dash flip the last thug so effortlessly, he fled in panic to the main doors. He was so intent on observing Rainbow Dash, he had failed to see that Applejack was directly in his path.

Applejack allowed Grima to trip over her anchored body, sending the Chief Counselor to ignominiously fall on his frontside. She then proceeded to sit down on top of him, and keep him pinned to the ground.

"Ah'd suggest ya stop yer fussin' an' stay here with me," Applejack warned Grima with an arched eyebrow. "Right now, Ah'm probably the only thing stoppin' all of Edoras from killing ya. If ya slip away like an ornery sidewinder, Ah won't be able ta keep that from happenin'."

Now that the marginal threat from Wormtongue and his men had been neutralized, Gandalf stood alone at the base of the dais as the others watched, waiting to see what happened next.

Gandalf closed his eyes and gently raised his left hand before speaking to Theoden. "I release you from the spell."

After Gandalf had spoken, all within the Golden Hall were slightly unnerved by the menacing laugh that come from Theoden, with a measure of strength that hadn't been present in his earlier address of them.

"You have no power here, Gandalf the Grey!" he gloated and cackled in a manner that was practically dripping with evil.

"Perhaps he doesn't. But I DO!"

Ever since entering the hall of the Meduseld, Twilight had been very deliberate in her actions, and how she conducted herself. She had intentionally been standing close to the back, allowing Gandalf and the others to proceed ahead of her, in order to obscure her presence from the line of sight of Theoden. If he truly was serving as Saruman's puppet as Gandalf had said, she didn't want her presence known about right off the bat. She wanted to maintain the element of surprise for as long as possible in case it was necessary.

Now that they had actual confirmation of Saruman actively manipulating Theoden -basically wearing the man as a disguise- it was time to spring the surprise.

"Gandalf, if you would be so kind as to step aside. This one's mine..." she stated.

In response to the request, Gandalf gave a chuckle that was both lighthearted, good natured, and simultaneously dark as all get out, before stepping out of Theoden's line of sight, letting him see her for himself.

The look on Theoden's/Saruman's face at seeing her was exquisite, and only served to make her joyless grin all the more menacing in response, like a shark detecting the scent of blood in the water.

"Round two."

Theoden moved to escape, but never even got out of his throne before Twilight crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, teleporting right in front of him, and pushing him back down into a sitting position.

"Nope, I don't think so," she stated as she held him down with one hoof on his chest. "Now you just sit right back, this won't hurt a bit," she continued in a faux cheery tone as the tip of her horn began to glow. "Or at least... it won't hurt Theoden any..."





The commotion within the Meduseld had been of such volume, it'd been more than enough to draw Eowyn inside to see just what events were transpiring.

Seeing it for herself, she didn't believe it any better than when she was just hearing it. Grima's men were being dispatched by ponies. Grima was being trippand sat on by another pony. And yet another pony was confronting her own uncle in a very hostile manner.

It was the last one that drove her forward to try and intervene, only to be intercepted by Aragorn and Boromir.

"No! It is for the best," Aragorn stressed as she fought to break loose. "He is in no danger."

His words were intended to assure Eowyn, but in all honesty he didn't know whether or not they were truthful. Magic was out of his realm of knowledge, especially when it was Equestrian magic. For all he knew right now, Twilight was putting King Theoden at the same risk she did Saruman when she confronted him back in Isengard.

"Hold up, lemme check on something," Rainbow Dash said as she made her way over to Twilight's side. Having been present for this once before, she had something of an idea of what was going on, but still wanted confirmation. So she reached out and placed her hoof on Twilight's wither, just as she had the last time, in order to see what events were transpiring without them.

Not two seconds later, she was pulling her hoof back with a look on her face somewhere between surprise and terror. "Whoa!"

"What is it, darling? Is everything alright?" Rarity asked, her voice heavy with concern.

"I... I don't know," Rainbow Dash admitted, before quickly turning her attention to Gandalf. "You gotta see it to believe it, it's... epic..."

Gandalf couldn't help but feel intrigued by this. He had always regarded himself as a man with an appropriate level of curiosity regarding the goings on in the world. But this had piqued his interests substantially, leaving him wanting to know just what Rainbow Dash had seen.

Doing as Rainbow Dash had done previously, he stepped forward and gently placed his hand atop Twilight's withers.





Isengard. The Orthanc. This was where Gandalf found himself as he opened his eyes. Although he hadn't remembered actually shutting his eyes.

No. This wasn't the Orthanc itself, but a mere imitation; a hazy, mental representation of the main chamber of the stone tower. And standing in the middle of the chamber were Saruman and Twilight Sparkle, two combatants facing against one another in a struggle for domination.

Each of them stood, consumed in auras that represented their respective powers and forces, magical and otherwise, the two clashing violently against one another in their struggles to determine who would persevere over the other. Twilight was, not surprisingly, represented by a rich, vibrant shade of purple that was quite befitting of royalty; and could potentially make Rarity quite jealous if she were to see it for herself.

Saruman's, however, was no longer the rich, vibrant white that he had known for himself so long ago. It has grown dingy and stained, muddied by sickly, altering shades of red and brown. It was a very sorry state to see his once-old friend currently in. How far he had fallen.

"If I go... then Theoden dies!" Saruman threatened, his deep, baritone voice heavily strained as he spoke, holding his staff in front of him as one might a shield.

No, that simply wouldn't do at all, Gandalf concluded. There was no way that Saruman would be allowed to bring any further harm to Theoden. But what happened next, before he had the chance to intervene, took him quite by surprise.

"If Theoden dies, I'll level all of Isengard and wipe itcompletely from the map!I'll melt the Orthanc down around you and reduce it to a puddle of molten rock,AND YOU'LL BE STRUNG UP AND EVISCERATED, AND PARADED AROUND FOR ALL TO SEE THE FATE THAT AWAITS THOSE WHO DARE TO OPPOSE THE FREE PEOPLE OF MIDDLE-EARTH!"

Whether or not Twilight truly had the strength to actually make good on her statement, Gandalf couldn't say for certain. But to actually feel the power that her voice commanded, that her aura conveyed, he would honestly believe that it was a task she could indeed fulfill if she felt so motivated to undertake such.

He had physically felt power like this once before, back in Rivendell when she'd commanded all those present to let Frodo speak. She had driven the lot of them into silence, Elf, Man, and Dwarf alike, with even Master Elrond choosing to pay her heed as she spoke. Now here he was witnessing it once again, feeling it once again, as she directed her fury against Saruman, and brought the full strength of her will to bear against him. In such a clash, anything could possibly happen.

"You couldn't kill Gandalf! You couldn't kill me! You couldn't even kill Rainbow Dash! You certainly won't be killing Theoden either! A puny Man such as yourself couldn't possibly comprehend what he's up against!"

Gandalf winced at this exchange. Twilight's statement was easily understandable as that of someone who was less knowledgeable on the subject, but he knew that to compare Saruman to Man was... not something to be done; at least not someone that actually valued their own well being.

As was to be expected, Saruman exploded in a rage.

"You would dare to compare me to the likes of Man!? They are a tiny, insignificant species! I am Maiar heritage! I am as far above and removed from the likes of them, as they are to the likes of ants! To their likes I am a god of this world-"

Saruman's blasphemous boast of superiority was quickly cut short, with his dingy aura disappearing right alongside it as his feet were grabbed and dragged out from beneath him by a then-unseen force, as he was pulled up into the air and brutally smashed against the floor.

Gandalf only realized as it was happening, that Twilight had managed to ensnare Saruman's mental representation in her field, and was repeatedly slamming him into the floor of the Orthanc chamber. With each slam she performed, she was physically thrashing herself about -rearing up on her hind legs, whipping her head about, and slamming back down on her front hooves- as if her own physical movements were necessary to actually go about performing the feat correctly. He watched wordlessly as Twilight slammed Saruman against the ground several times, before holding him aloft by his feet to examine him with a critical eye, and then slamming him against the ground several more times, before finally throwing him down and relinquishing her hold on him.

Saruman made no move to immediately get back up. from where he currently laid. Gandalf wasn't even certain hecouldget back up after that; duels of the will were tricky things indeed.

Twilight grunted and snorted as she scuffed her shod hoof against the floor. "I've had dealings before with those who could be considered as being the likes of gods. Those who violate the immutable rules of reality itself for no reason other than the sake of amusement," she huffed, "you by comparison, Saruman? You're nothing. You're but a tiny, insignificant percentage of an infinitesimalspeckof what a god would be! Of what a godshouldbe!"

All throughout Twilight's rant, Saruman merely laid where he'd been cast, an undignified wheeze/whine escaping his lips as he stared wide-eyed at the ceiling, likely still trying to process what'd just happened to him.

"Get out of my sight, Saruman, and let your master know that I'm coming for him next," Twilight growled as she reached out and latched onto his robes. "If you get in our way again, I promise you that I won't benearlyas nice the next time we meet," she said as she tugged him into a sitting position.

The last thing Saruman would see was Twilight's lavander-furred backside as she turned her back on him, right before bucking with her hind legs, slamming both of her shod hooves into his face with all of her might, forcefully removing him from the chamber in the process entirely.





Not even a minute had passed, and yet it had been enough for Gandalf to see what Rainbow Dash had been referring to. With the expulsion of Saruman, he pulled away from Twilight, who proceeded to collapse against Theoden where he sat on this throne, undoubtedly exhausted from her endeavors.

Rainbow Dash was at her friend's side within a heartbeat, checking to make sure she was well, and lifting her off of Theoden's prone form as Eowyn was allowed to move to her uncle's side.

At his niece's touch, Theoden raised his head and with the exception of Gandalf, all in the hall was stunned by what they witnessed. Before their very eyes, Theoden seemed to become younger in a matter of moments with color returning to his skin as well as his white hair line receding. Instead of white, the hair on his head and goatee beard was now wheaten blond in color. And his eyes. Clarity and recognition returned to Theoden's eyes as he looked at his niece in front of him.

"I know your face," he whispered before touching her cheek. "Eowyn... Eowyn!"

Eowyn broke into a relived smile as tears of joy spilled out of her eyes. The Shield-maiden knew the nightmare of Saruman's possession of her uncle was now over.

It was then that Theoden finally noticed Gandalf properly.

"Gandalf?" he asked the Wizard. "Why are you here? Who are these people? Where did these strange creatures before me come from?"

"Simply breathe the free air again, my friend, and all will be explained in time," Gandalf replied.

Theoden stood up from his throne, to the happiness of his courtiers, as well as his own body. Hama and Gamling exchanged barely restrained smiles of joy that their liege had returned in both body and spirit.

"Dark have been my dreams of late," Theoden commented mostly to himself before realising his hands, as well as the rest of him, was slightly trembling.

"Your fingers would remember their old strength better... if they grasped your sword," Gandalf pointed out

At Gandalf's words, Hama rushed up to Theoden and presented the said weapon. The King's sword, that bore the name of 'Herugrim'. Theoden wrapped his fingers around the hilt before firmly withdrawing it.

Twilight, watching the entire demonstration with a sense of pride from where she currently sat, couldn't help but find it to be very... Arthurian in nature, tales of the sword in the stone coming to the forefront of her mind as the sword left its scabbard. Like the tales around Arthur himself, Theoden seemed to grow in stature with his sword in hand. She knew that he actually hadn't... but it sure felt that way, going by the reaction of those present in the hall.

Throughout Theoden's restoration, Grima had tried to subtly free himself. Applejack's hold on him, however, was stronger than that of an iron warhammer, and far heavier. The Chief Counselor began to tremble as Theoden locked gazes and gave him a murderous glare. Grima couldn't help but hope that Applejack's rough vow of 'protection' also extended to the King's wrath.





"A'right then."

Now that Theoden was free of Saruman's influence, Applejack was quite happy to get off of Grima, and pass him over to the custody of bothHama and Gamling. The two most senior members of the Royal Guard firmly grasped Grima on either side as they dragged him outside the Golden Hall, and none too gently threw him down the stairs with a powerful heave. Grima cried in pain as he hit the stairs hard, rolling and tumbling down them, before finally coming to a stop. Blood poured out of his split lip as Theoden menacingly approached him with Herugrim in hand.

"I've only ever served you, my lord!" he beseeched Theoden as he began pulling himself backwards in fear.

Grima's lie only fueled the King's wrath towards him.

"Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!" Theoden hissed.

As there was now a large mob of Edoras residents behind him, Grima stopped moving and resorted to groveling to save his life.

"Send me not from your side!" he pathetically begged.

The situation looked quite grim. As Theoden stepped closer, it looked like Grima would be meeting a brutal end at the edge of the King's sword.

Or at least it looked like that, until a certain snow-white unicorn saw fit to stand between the two, and halt the King''s advance any further.

"Your Majesty," Rarity spoke up in as calm a voice as she could manage, "please forgive me for speaking out of turn, especially since we've yet to be formally introduced. But if you kill this deplorable wretch, doesn't that make you no better than Saruman in this matter, by sacrificing the moral high ground to claim vengeance for being wronged? Especially vengeance on one who, quite frankly, isn't worth such?" she asked.

"What?" Rainbow Dash squawked as she quickly moved to face Rarity. "Rarity, you can't be serious! It's not our place to be deciding something like that!"

"Perhaps not, Rainbow Dash. But I can't, in good conscience, just stand idly by in this situation, without at least voicing my objections to all of this. If I don't do at least that, if I hold my tongue and simply allow another to be killed... I just can't do it. We've already been responsible for so many deaths as it is. Unlike those, however, this can't be written off as a case of self defense," Rarity pointed out.

"Oh yes it is!" Rainbow Dash protested. "If we leave this buttwad alive then he's a liability. He was already working for Saruman, what if he decides to reclaim him? Worse, what if he decides to make use of what this scoundrel might know? Who knows what exploitable secrets he's got locked away in his head?"

"Rainbow Dash, you're rationalizing what's basically murder. You can't just end someone's life on the basis of what they might do, before they do it," Rarity explained.

"After all he did-" Rainbow Dash started.

"It still doesn't justify killing him on the basis of what might be done in the future," Rarity interrupted.

Rainbow Dash didn't know what to say. She tried to speak, but no words would actually come out. Her mind was reeling, trying to come up with a counterpoint that would adequately rebut Rarity's position, but she couldn't manage to come up with anything on the matter.

"Fluttershy and the others are, indirectly at least, still alive due to his actions here. Surely that must account for something," Rarity continued.

That statement had struck Rainbow Dash far harder than she thought it would, leaving her even more speechless than before. Were it not for the riders of Rohan, there's no telling what the Uruk-Hai might've done to not only Fluttershy, but also Merry and Pippin as well. Had they not come through when they did, and slaughtered every orc in sight, they might actually be mourning the loss of their friends right now. And why had they come through when they did in the first place? Because Grima had banished them from the kingdom of Rohan.

"Fine..." she mumbled in defeat and resignation. She wouldn't push for the little turd's execution since he played a part in saving Fluttershy.

But then again the decision wasn't up to either one of them. That authority rested with King Theoden, and he'd have final say on the matter.





Theoden was uncertain of how to proceed. Just a moment ago he'd been fully prepared -even intent- to slay Grima where he groveled, and rid his kingdom of such filth. But to hear these strange ponies passionately disagree on what was proper to engage, both giving reasons to support their individual positions, he found himself hesitating on the follow through.

By the time the blue pony with the rainbow mane had conceded her defeat, even his own rage had been tempered by their words.

"She may be a pony, but she raises excellent points for consideration."

It had been Gandalf's voice that had been behind the statement. It was as if the old wizard had sensed his uncertainty, and was preying upon it.

"A King must be firm. But he must also recognize tyranny when it may arise, regardless of the origin," Gandalf added in a mutter that just met his ears.

Try as he might, Theoden's resolve to end Grima rightly, the certainty that he was doing the right thing, simply couldn't withstand the assault from the others. Finally it great to be too much for him. The very thought of doing such now disgusted him.

"Be gone from my sight," he growled and looked at the ground. "Leave my kingdom now. I do not want you within a hundred leagues of me!" he shouted.

"King Theoden, Sir. If I may."

This time it was the lavender pony that was addressing him, while the pink one went about restraining Grima before he could escape.

"Rainbow Dash raises an excellent point. As Grima served as your Chief Counselor, he'd be privy to a great deal of information that could put Rohan at an equally great risk if Saruman were to get his hands on it. Assuming that he hasn't already. He's far too much of a security risk to simply just turn loose like that. Even just keeping him confined in the prisons of Rohan, assuming you have prions, is no guarantee," Twilight pointed out. If he was banished from the kingdom, he'd inevitably go running to Saruman, sniveling all the way. "At the same time, however, I have to agree with Rarity and Gandalf on this. I've seen enough killing, participated in enough killing, to want to avoid any further if at all possible."

"And what would you suggest?" Theoden found himself asking.

Out of all these strange visitors, this one had his attention the most. His mind had not been his own for so long, overshadowed and corrupted by the taint of Saruman's wicked will. And yet she had stormed into the inner sanctum of his own thoughts as if it was her own, and went about forcefully banishing Saruman, returning control of his mind to him in the process. He knew not precisely just what had been experienced, only that it was enough to instill a sense of respect within himself.

"A compromise of the three options as it were. We leave Grima alive, banishing him from the kingdom as you originally decided, but not before completely wiping his mind of any and all information that pertains to Rohan, and whatever vulnerabilities it might possess. Anything he knows, gone in an instant, as if it never existed in the first place," Twilight proposed.

Back in Equestria, such a proposal wasn't one that would be made lightly. Outside the Elements of Harmony, among the three punishments reserved for the most serious of offenders, it was regarded as the most severe. There was banishment from the kingdom, condemnation to Tartarus, and then what was colloquially known as the living death; the body remained alive and able to function, but their psyche, the very essence of who they were, all of their memories, experience, and knowledge, was completely wiped out of existence, making it as if they'd never been alive to begin with. It was essentially Equestria's equivalent of the death penalty, which was practiced by the Dragon and Gryphon nations.

It was a very horrifying, very distasteful task to undertake even when it was necessary. Very few ponies actually knew of its confirmed existence, and of them, only four actually knew how to perform such a gruesome feat. She was, for better or worse, one of the four tasked with holding such knowledge; an unfortunate requirement of being tasked with holding the position of Alicorn Princess. Princess Celestia and Luna had taken no joy in having to inform her of this painful knowledge shortly after her coronation, of what duties she may one day be required to fulfill.

But that was neither here nor there. These were far different circumstances they found themselves in. And short of execution, the living death was the best way she knew of to keep Rohan safe from whatever knowledge this greasy scoundrel might have locked away in his rotten head!

"That said, however, it's not something I can do right now. It's not a difficult process, but it requires a great deal of focus, and I'm still worn out from kicking Saruman to the curb. I'm going to need time to rest and recuperate in order to do this. Is it possible to have Grima confined for the time being until I'm ready to deal with him?" she asked.

The thought of Grima being in his kingdom even a moment longer repulsed Theoden greatly. He wanted the worm gone immediately! But even in his current state, he knew this treasonous scoundrel would pose a risk if he was in league with Saruman. And if this pony could indeed stop that from being the case, he owed it to his people to protect them whenever possible.

He shared a look with both Hama and Gamling. A look that conveyed everything that needed to be said in this matter.

"Oh yes. Yes I believe we can be very accommodating to him..."





The intent of Hama and Gamling was quite evident to Gandalf as he watched haul Grima away, more likely than not planning on venting some pent up frustrations as they confined him for the duration, until Twilight was ready to deal with him in her own way. But at the moment, such was not his concern. Instead he chose to focus on matters closer at hand, such as the gathered crowds that had been watching everything in disbelief. These were a people that needed good news to lift their spirits, and he could think of no better news than an important announcement.

"Your King is now free from Saruman's Sorcery!"

"Hail, Theoden-King!" Aragorn proclaimed.

All Rohirrim present knelt in homage to their ruler. The Fellowship quickly followed their gesture as a sign of respect to Theoden. As Theoden noted this, he realized someone important was missing.

"Where is Theodred?" he asked no one in particular. "Where is my son?"





The night, the mist dissipated enough for the darkness of the night sky to really cast down. They could hear thunder in the distance, and Spike could see the red cloud over Mordor as clear as day. He tried to sleep, but the slight whispers of the conversation between Gollum and Frodo kept him on the edge of consciousness. He didn't bother listening though; listening required concentration, and concentration interfered with resting. After the day they'd had, all he wanted to do was rest right now.

Despite that, he wondered what Twilight, Rarity, Fluttershy and the others were doing right now.

Twilight was certain that they'd be meeting up again in a few days. But he was starting to doubt the accuracy of her claim. He didn't want to doubt her, but it was beginning to feel apparent that he, Frodo and Sam... all right, and Gollum, would be making the journey alone to Mordor for the time being. So what was the rest of the Fellowship doing in Rohan? Maybe they were trying to stop that other bad guy. What was his name? It sounded like Sauron, he remembered that much, but trying to focus on the details was just too much effort right now.

Well, whatever they were doing, a few things were likely certain: Legolas and Gimli were probably bickering about one thing or another, Gandalf was probably getting ready to kill the both of them, Aragorn and Twilight were leading everybody, and-

Screeeeeeeee!

His thoughts were interrupted as an ear-splitting shriek rent through the air; one that was all too familiar to them, even after this long.

"Black Riders!" Sam shouted.

Frodo let out a cry and clutched at his shoulder, where he'd been stabbed by one of them on Weathertop. He went incredibly pale, and seemed to be incapable of movement in the wake of the noise.

"Come on Frodo!" Spike gasped. "We have to hide!" He and Sam managed to usher Frodo over to a bush as Gollum panicked wildly nearby. "Quickly! Quickly! They will see us, they willsee us!"

"I thought they were dead - Aragorn and Twilight set the lot of them on fire on Weathertop!"

"Dead?" Gollum whispered solemnly. "You cannot kill them, no." The Ring Wraith shrieked again, and Spike plugged his ears, wincing in pain. Had they always been that loud?

"Oh my Celestia," Spike whispered, looking up through the branches of the bush. "What isthat?"

High above them was a large, evil-looking flying serpent - on its back sat the Ring Wraith, riding it like a horse. The two swooped in dangerously close to their hiding spot, and for one horrible moment, Spike thought that maybe it had seen them. But then it swooped back into the air as swiftly as it had descended, taking off towards Mordor.

"They call for the Precious!" Gollum gasped. "They scream for it!"

Fordo began to convulse again, and Sam grabbed his hand. "Don't worry, Mr. Frodo. We're here."

Spike followed suit and grabbed Frodo's other hand. Once the Wraith was a safe distance away, Gollum relaxed.

"Come, come - the Black Gate is very close."

"It sure better be," Spike stated. The riders had been bad enough on plain horseback, but now they had dragons of their own to serve as mounts? That just wasn't fair at all. "I'd better let Twilight know about this; see if I can motivate her to hurry up already."