//------------------------------//
// We're Going On An Adventure! 
// Story: The Hobbit: Desolation is Magic 
// by King Camelot 
//------------------------------//

Sunset Shimmer dreamt of many things that night. She dreamt of adventure, of gold, and of heroic bravery. She dreamed of finding the way into Erebor, being the first to charge down the mighty dragon Smaug, and being the one to finally take that filth's miserable life. She dreamed of the dwarves retaking their homeland, of how Thorin and his kin would bow to her feet, eternally grateful that is was her that had finally killed the beast that had plagued their home for so long. She dreamed of Starlight, who had finally stopped worrying and started to have fun with the adventure, who apologized for worrying too much about her. She dreamed of going back to Canterlot High School, a huge truck behind her carrying a small mountain of gold and gems, how many of her friends and peers would ask her over and over again how she slayed the beast and won the day. She would then show them Smaug's ginormous head, which she hung outside her house, and would tell them the tale of how she climbed on the dragons back, and stabbed at the dragon until she reached its evil, horrible, and gruesome beating heart! It was a very lovely dream, but in the end, that's all it was and ever would be. A Dream.

"Hey, 'Mary'! Wake up you lazy oaf!"

Sunset suddenly jolted awake, her dream cut short by the painful experience of getting repeatedly kicked in the side. Turning around, she saw the stubby little legs of Thorin Oakenshield painfully meeting her waist, "Get up! We're heading out now!"

"Alright, alright! I'm up, I'm up!" Sunset insisted, "No need for all that!" Slowly wincing at the pain Thorin caused, she got herself off of the floor (the only place she where she could really sleep), tempted to deliver her own set of kicks to the rather rude dwarven prince. But before she could get the chance to, he went off to go kick awake some of the other dwarves within the company. So she decided to let off some steam by kicking a few of the other dwarves awake. Their reactions definitely made her feel better, their constant griping made her chuckle a little bit.

"Argh!" Gloin grumpily awoke when he was kicked, "Alright, alright, no need for any more of all this forsaken kicking!"

For the next five minutes or so, the dwarves kicked themselves awake from their dreams, grunting annoyingly as they got ready to start their long journey. Everything was being accounted for, provisions were being packed, weapons were being hung from their belts, and all the equipment they would need was being packed on their ponies.

Pausing for a brief moment, Sunset broke away from the company, to check on Starlight and Bilbo. Both were still fast asleep, Bilbo on a small stool, and Starlight on the floor. She had half a mind to wake them up, to give them one last chance to join the company. But those thoughts were quickly interrupted by Balin, "C'mon lassie, the others are on their ponies and waiting for us. We'd best get going."

"I know," Sunset complied, but was still hesitant to leave them there, "It just feels wrong to leave them there. Starlight's my friend, we started this journey together. I'm worried about her, that she's making a terrible choice that she's going to regret. Same for Bilbo, I don't know him that well, but I feel like he's making a choice that will cost him."

"I understand you concerns, Miss Shimmer," Balin agreed, "But they've made their choices. The only thing we can do for them now is get out of their hair." Still, seeing that Sunset just wanted to watch them and think for a moment, he backed off a bit, "I'll give you a moment. But be quick, we're leaving at daybreak."

In her mind, he knew Balin was right. But in her heart, she still didn't want to leave them. She even thought about tying them up and dragging them to Erebor if she had to. She wished Twilight was here, she would've come up with this fantastic speech about friendship and protecting one another that surely would've convinced both of them to come. But she wasn't here, and Sunset wasn't that good with speeches. She probably would've stayed in that spot watching them for the rest of her days, had it not been for Stygian, who had come to finally collect her.

"Come Sunset, we must go or they will surely leave us behind," Stygian reminded her, gently taking her hand. Sunset just simply nodded and allowed herself to be lead away from her friends and out the hobbit hole. On the way out, Sunset noticed that the contract they had signed was still waiting on the table. Why wasn't it packed yet?

"Hey, isn't that the contract?" Sunset wondered, "Why isn't it packed with everything else?" She moved to pick it up and take it with her, before she was stopped by Stygian.

"Leave it," Stygian told her, "Gandalf's idea." He ended the exchange with a small wink, and went outside with the others. It took her a minute, but Sunset now understood what the wizard was planning. Whatever it was, she knew it involved Starlight and Bilbo. In the time she knew Gandalf, she had seen that he was a person who used clever words and tricks to sway others, similar to the Equestrian Princesses. No doubt Gandalf had set something in motion that would convince both of them to participate in the adventure. She only hoped that it changed their minds soon, lest they be left behind to far to catch up.

Gathering herself together, Sunset went out and joined Stygian and the others. Each got on their respective horses, the dwarves mounted on ponies, a bit of an uncomfortable thought for the former unicorns. But ponies of this world were not like they were, so there wasn't much to talk about ethics. They thought about leaving Starlight's horse, just in case she changed her mind, but Thorin shot down the idea, saying that they would need the extra storage and horse power. After one last look at the map confirming their route, Thorin, his band of dwarves, the wizard and two of his charges set off for Erebor. Sunset sighed to herself, urging Starlight to wake up soon, while she still could.





It was a beautiful morning outside. The sun was poking its head over the lush hills, the morning birds were chirping, and there was a gentle breeze. A morning such as this should not be spent in bed. Luckily, it wasn't, for the two creatures in Bag End were just beginning to stir from their slumber.

Bilbo was the first to awake, blinking his eyes and yawning slightly. Then suddenly, his eyes went wide. Where was Gandalf? Where were the dwarves and the three human children? Quickly getting up from the stool he was sleeping on, he tripped on something, taking a painful tumble onto the floor.

"Urmph!" grumbled the thing he tripped on. Starlight slowly got up to her feet, a bit grumpy from the rude awakening, "W-what? Where am I?"

Bilbo, a bit grumpy himself, put his hands to his pockets, "So, you're still here? That means last night wasn't just a dream then."

"I could say the same thing myself," Starlight said back, "I was sure that this was all just a dream, and my friends and I were back in Equestria."

Starlight hadn't caught her mistake, and was too groggy to care at the moment. Bilbo didn't really care either, for he had more pressing things on his mind, "Wait, if your here, where are the others?"

At these words, it became abundantly clear to Starlight how quiet the house was at the moment. Had Sunset and Stygian truly left her to join the dwarves? No, they couldn't have. She was so sure that they would stay when she declared she wouldn't go, "Sunset? Stygian? You still here? Where are you?" 

Forgetting how tall she was compared to everything else, Starlight banged her head on the ceiling before tearing through the house looking for her missing friends. Bilbo was close behind, being just as curious as she was to the whereabouts of the uninvited guests. To their surprise, the house was completely empty. Aside from the empty pantry and Starlight, there was almost no trace that they had ever been there. Bilbo was overjoyed; he had won, Gandalf had finally given up, meaning he could go back to his quiet and respectable life. He gave himself a whispered hurrah and shook his fist in delight.

That delight was short lived as he watched Starlight fall to her knees. "They really left me here," Starlight said to herself, unable to believe what her friends had done. Bilbo then suddenly realized that he was still charged with Starlight, and frankly didn't know what to do with her. She couldn't stay here, she was out of the ordinary, and would most likely be the root of nasty rumors towards him. At the same time, he couldn't just kick her out. Her friends had left her here and she most likely had nowhere else to go. To say he was in a pickle would be an understatement to say the least.

"They left me here," Starlight repeated again. In her head, she was trying to understand why. They were obviously oblivious to the dangers of time travel, but surely they would've at least tried to drag her along, right? Keep trying to convince her to go? She knew Twilight would never leave her behind like that, she'd even carry her if she had to.

Then, it dawned on her. Despite her fear of the future, and what possible damage they could cause, had she really wanted to go on the quest? Out of a desire to protect the timeline? Perhaps, but there was something else to it as well. Whatever happened during the quest, whatever problem they faced, they were supposed to do it together as friends. They would've looked out for each other no matter what. Starlight was still afraid of the timeline, but she knew that whatever damage they caused, they could fix it with the Magic of Friendship at their side.

"Yes they did," Bilbo agreed, "They left us here." For Bilbo, his thought process was a little different. For the first time in a long time, he realized how incredibly empty his house was. It was completely ordinary, nothing unusual about it. Which would have been completely fine for the Baggins side of him, of course. But slowly, his Took side was beginning to take over, reminding him of the adventurous boy he was in his youth, what kind of treasures lay outside the Shire for him to claim, and the stories that he could tell when he returned.

Both Starlight and Bilbo began to kick themselves in their heads, for their selfish behavior costing them the chance of a lifetime. Well, there was nothing that either of them could do but get started with their days. Bilbo was willing to allow Starlight to stay for breakfast (which would consist of whatever was left in the house) before helping her find a place to stay. As he approached the table, his eye suddenly caught onto a lonely piece of paper.

"Hey, Starbright. Come take a look at this," Bilbo called over to his human guest.

"It's Starlight," she corrected, "What is it that you wa-"

She never finished her sentence. Bending down a little, she saw what had gotten Bilbo so worked up. They had left the contract for them. Everything was still there, the requirements, the rewards, and the signatures. Everyone had signed, including Sunset and Stygian, who had made their own place on the parchment. Their eyes caught upon the last three slots on the contract.

Signed: Thorin, son of Thrain

Witnessed: Balin, son of Fundin

Burglar:

It had become abundantly obvious to both of them what the message for them was: "It's not too late, come with us."

Bilbo and Starlight locked eyes for a moment, before looking out the window, and they both knew what they had to do.

After ten minutes of rushed packing, Bilbo shot out the door, contract in hand, with Starlight following close behind him. They ran all across town, jumping over fences, taking shortcuts through cow and pig pens, even leaping over other hobbits. They were all given confused and disapproving looks by the other hobbits of Hobbiton, but they didn't care. All that mattered was catching up to Thorin and his Company, which gave Starlight an idea.

"We'll be running all day at this rate!" Starlight noted through heavy breaths, "Hold on tight!"

"What?" was all Bilbo managed to speak before he was thrust up into the air and placed on Starlight's shoulders. Once he had grabbed tight, Starlight ran as fast as her human legs could carry her.

"Mr. Bilbo, what on earth are you doing up there?" called out one of the farmer hobbits.

"Can't stop, we're already late!" Bilbo answered, his grip on Starlight never faltering.

"Late for what?" called back the other hobbit.

"We're going on an adventure!" both Bilbo and Starlight simultaneously responded, before exiting the quiet village of Hobbiton and disappearing into the outside world.





Back with Sunset and the rest of Thorin's company, the dwarves were talking amongst themselves about how much of a disappointment and a waste of time the entire party at Bag End's was.

"Didn't I say it," one of the dwarves commented, "Nothing but a waste of time."

"That's true enough," called out another dwarf, "Use a Hobbit'? Whose idea was that anyway?"

"That's quite enough of that," Stygian called to them, not wanting to give up hope, "Bilbo will show up, they both will! Just give them more time."

"Ah, you're talking nonsense, laddie," the dwarf named Bofur told him. But neither Stygian, Sunset, or Gandalf wanted to give up on Bilbo and Starlight. They had a gut feeling, they would be here just about...

"Wait! Wait! Wait for us!"

Everyone suddenly stopped their mounts, surprised at the new voices joining them. Everyone had turned around to see Bilbo Baggins himself riding on the shoulders of Starlight Glimmer herself. There was a look of exasperation on most of the dwarves, but Thorin gave a look of curiosity, curiosity of what they were doing here, and how they could hinder them any further.

"I signed it!" Bilbo explained after letting himself down from Starlight's shoulders.

"We both did," Starlight agreed, "Please don't leave without us." Taking the contract from Bilbo's hands, she walked up to the pony Balin was riding on, and presented it to him. The old dwarf gladly took it from her, bringing out his eye glass to make sure that everything was accounted for. Both Sunset and Stygian held their breaths in anticipation, hoping that they had done everything correctly.

Soon enough, Balin had confirmed both their signatures, Bilbo's as the Burglar, and Starlight right alongside her friends as Participators, "Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins and Mistress Glimmer, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield."

There was a bout of light and well meaning laughter among the dwarves, Balin himself had given them a kind wink. Sunset was ecstatic with joy, jumping off her horse and wrapping Starlight in a humongous back-breaking hug.


"Starlight, I'm so glad you're here," Sunset told her friend, "I knew you'd come, I just knew you would."

The hug wasn't nearly as enjoyable for Starlight, who was slowly losing breath from her lungs being crushed, "Sunset... can't breathe... help..."

"Oh!" Sunset cried as she quickly let go. Her cheeks had turned red, and a sheepish grin had spread across her face, earning another bout of laughter from the dwarves.

"It's glad to have you with us, Starlight," Stygian added as he rode up to them, "But I must say, I'm a bit surprised. You were so set on staying behind, what changed your mind?"

"Well, someone's gotta make sure you don't screw up the timeline," Starlight joked, "Besides, I'd remembered one of the most important lessons Twi- our friend taught us. Whatever happens next, whatever danger we come across, we go through it together, as friends."

At these words, Sunset gave Starlight another hug, and Stygian gave her a short nod of approval. At these words, all the other dwarves and company gave a small round of applause, except for Thorin, who was becoming more annoyed by the second, "Alright everyone, that's enough. We've lost enough time already."

Recognizing that the moment was over, everyone began to resume the long trail ahead of them. Parting from their hug, both Sunset and Starlight got back on their respective horses, when Sunset began to realize something, "Wait, what about Bilbo?"

Thorin gave a sigh of annoyance before declaring, "Give him a pony."

To the hobbit, these words were quite distressing, he had never ridden an animal in his life, and had grown to be quite fearful of them, "No no no, that won't be necessary. Thank you, I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frogmorten once. Woah!"

Despite his protests, both Fili and Kili had lifted Bilbo high up off his feet, and unto the closest pony there was. To say that he was rather uncomfortable with the whole situation would be an understatement. Noticing his disquietude, Sunset rode up to him and patted him on the back, "Hey, you think this is weird? Just imagine what this might feel like for us," she laughed before rejoining her friends. Bilbo hadn't the slightest idea what she meant, and it offered him absolutely no comfort whatsoever.

For another ten-fifteen minutes or so, the company rode through the surrounding forests of the Shire, before the trees began to thin out, finally breaking through the endless green and brown, and having a clear view of the blue and white in the sky. The three equestrians has seen many blue skies back in Equestria, but at this moment, none of them could compare.

After a while, the dwarves started socializing amongst themselves again, "Come on Nori, pay up!"

"Oh no, you don't," Nori called back to Oin, "The bet was if only Bilbo showed up! You'll not get one coin from me!"

This conversation continued in a similar matter among the other dwarves, demanding payment, and throwing back and forth pouches of coins. Then there were a few who refused to toss their pouches for some reason or another. This ordeal confused both Bilbo and Starlight, though only Bilbo rode over to Gandalf to confirm it, "What's that about?"

"Oh, they took wagers on whether or not you, or Starlight, or both of you would turn up," Gandalf explained, "Most of them bet that you wouldn't."

"And what did you think?" Bilbo asked with great interest. Even Starlight was now interested what Gandalf had thought about them.

"Well..." Gandalf began, and both Bilbo and Starlight had feared he had doubted them. But this thought was short lived, for there was a small clink, as Gandalf caught a rather large bag of coins, "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second. Either of you."

This knowledge comforted Bilbo. He had been rather rude towards him for the short time they've known each other, and yet the wizard still hadn't given up hope with him. Starlight, on the other hand, was more interested in what her friends had to say on the matter. "So, did you two bet anything on me?" she asked, even though she probably knew the answer.

"You bet we did," Sunset told her, "Hey Thorin, both Starlight and Bilbo showed up! You know what that means!"

Thorin simply grunted in annoyance, his eyes never leaving the road ahead of them. This reaction got a laugh out of a few of the other dwarves, who were so confident that such a bet would backfire on Sunset, that they couldn't help but laugh when it wasn't so. Stygian came up close to Starlight and whispered, "We bet one whole share of the treasure, that both you and Bilbo would join us by the time we left the Shire."

"You did what?!" Starlight gasped, "Do you know how stupid that was? Putting aside the timeline, that money isn't ours to bet! You could've put us in a debt we couldn't dream to pay if we stayed in Middle-Earth for the rest of our lives!"

Stygian shrugged, "Which isn't a problem now, since both you and Bilbo showed up in the end, like we knew you would."

Starlight was once again reminded of the lessons she had been taught under her tutelage with Twilight Sparkle. These ponies, who called her their friend, were willing to bet everything that she would return to them. There were fewer things in the world of Equestria, Middle-Earth, or any world, that showed how strong a friendship was, than that act of loyalty and selflessness. Starlight could not help but feel honored, but one thing still nagged on her mind, "So, then why did you bet that both me and Bilbo would show up?"

"Well, the higher the stakes, the higher we could bet, I suppose," Stygian answered, leaving Starlight a little flabbergasted, "Besides, you're so worried about the timeline. Whether we showed up or not, Bilbo was supposed to go. I figured if he went as well, it'd be a sign that everything was still going the way it was supposed to go."

Starlight gave him the evil eye, the space-time continuum was a bit more complicated than that. She was honored that her friends had believed in her, but her mission hadn't changed; she was going to do her best to protect her friends and the timeline. But in that line of thinking, she had to admit that they were right; they had managed to get Bilbo to go on the quest, and that was a start.

Speaking of Bilbo, he had suddenly started to develop a habit of sneezing on the trip, which worried Starlight a little bit, "Hey Bilbo, are you alright?"

"What? Oh, it's horse hair, having a reaction, is all," Bilbo explained, reaching into his pocket. Then, his face turned into one of concern, then later panic, as he dug deep into his pocket for something, "No, wait wait, stop! Stop, we have to turn around!"

This little panic from Bilbo had halted the company for the second time that day. There were many looks of confusion and annoyance from the dwarves, even a few from the equestrians. "What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked him.

"I forgot my handkerchief," Bilbo told him, earning him a few grunts from the dwarves. At this rate they were never going to get to Erebor. Of course, Sunset and Starlight were used to this type of predicament, this was the type of stunt their friend Rarity would have pulled.

"Here, use this," Bofur told him, as he tore a piece of cloth from his clothes, and tossed it to Bilbo. Bilbo looked at it in disgust, it looked absolutely foul, and smelled even worse. After a small bit of laughter, the dwarves continued their journey, having had enough of Bilbo and his gentlefolk needs. Bilbo, having been defeated on the matter, just chose to use the "handkerchief" as a rag to hold the ropes of his pony. There was no way he was going to put something like that to his face.

"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs, and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before we reach our journey's end" Gandalf told him, "You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of the Shire. But home is now behind you, the world is ahead."

The three Equestrians had agreed. They had been on adventures before, so they knew that there would be little to no time for things like what Bilbo was used to. Adventures often required that you put such thoughts aside, until they were over, and even then, there were a few things left behind that could not be recovered. But the three equestrians had no knowledge of this last part of adventuring, having been lucky enough to be on adventures that did not cost them much at all. But this adventure was a different one, and it would a long time before they would see its completion.

This new adventure was just beginning, and it would change Sunset, Starlight, and Stygian forever, for better or worse.