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.