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..."
Before you ask, I am still following movie canon. But I wanted to add one scene from the book to the story.
Stay tuned for the next chapter! 
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Beware Mr. Willow.
Whoa that was intense, it's good that they managed to get away from them.
seriously, why did nobody think of that kind of thing before? naturally, it would work better if multiple mages were doing it, but still.
6408014
Because the ring has Sauron's power and soul in it and dispersing it would only let him get his power back to its prime.
Oh Sam, I'm sorry but I laughed way harder then I should have at that XD hahahaha! Good lord Pinkie, you crazy pony.
Awesome job on this! Eleven strong, god this is going to be an amazing read further in!
Keep it up brosef!
6407900
Wait my fic is on the front page?
Small error here. I think you mean Spike and Rarity?
Also, great chapter, I love the tension!
6408241
Whoops typo!
6408200
I don't think she is... Now, if she had gone throwing magic beams at the Nazguls and repelling them, that might have been OP.
Lucky Twilight not going with Gandalf to see Saruman. She would not have enjoyed the stay...
You, Mr-War, appears to be a very talented, no, excellent, fanfic writer, and I truely look forward to the next part!
It fits Rainbow's loyalty to courageously keep busy the Nazgul, until him swinging a sword at her makes it too much to bear for the Pegasus.
But this is only the beginning of the hardship...
Old man Willow, the Barrow Downs, and of course the other dangers of the Old Forest. There is still Tom Bombadil though.
These might help out people who need some background on TLofR.
6408592 I meant the part where she was going to cover the entire Shire in an illusion for a lengthy period of time, and then teleport two people all the way to Bree by herself.
6414477
Well, we didn't see her do that. Saying is one thing, doing is another.
6414678 True, but Twilight is not one to exaggerate her abilities.
Oh fuckin 'ell... It's Tom Bombadill XD "oh Tom Bombadill is merry fellow, his shirt is green and boots are yellow!" Stop singing! DX
6440040
And now I imagine all 6 mares dancing and singing along with Bombadil.
6447200 If I recall correctly, wern't the Hobbits all buck-naked for a time?
...Don't know how that came up?
Stalks. The same error is repeated a little bit later, too.
6476945
That was only after the time they were rescued by Bombadil from the barrow-wight. The wight had stipped the hobbits of thier clothes and put them in white robes with circlets over their heads, then lined them up with a sword across their necks. When Bombadil saved them, he told them their clothes wouldn't be found, so they ended up being naked until their ponies and supplies could be recovered. They then ended up wearing their heavier winter clothes.
6762574 It's book cannon actually as they don't go through the old forest in the movie
Elephant in the room has FINALLY been noticed.
The hobbits are portrayed as skittish towards men and elves and dwarves, strange folk who resemble them a bit but have strange ways and manners of speaking and come from so far away. They are cowed by fireworks and are willing to call Gandalf a wizard of great power simply by his mastery of controlled explosions.
Yet six multicolored talking ponies have raised little more than an eyebrow. The introductions between characters have been bland and understated at best. I keep hoping the next character to show up will have a more vibrant reaction.
A dark creature of the night, ancient royalty twisted by eldritch magic in the name of jealous greed for power, driven off and banished by symbols of purity, cleansing, or good. No, I think Nightmare Moon is exactly as terrifying as the Nazgul, and quite a bit more powerful besides.
...and there goes that hope I was talking about. I gave it a fair shake, but I have to downvote. The ponies just aren't adding anything to the story except commentary, commentary I find borderline out of character. You need to work on telling a NEW story, not just retreading the old.
Even so, you have good skills as a writer. Your setup was top notch and your narration is good. Dialog and characterization are your weak points. Shore them up a bit, and whatever you do, do not stop writing.
7099681 i totaly agree with u im hoping that he gets the ponies to play a larger role to change the story enugh to make it unique and enjoyable.
As I was reading the part where Twilight's wing caught my attention. I remember there being a noticeable time skip between Bilbo and Gandalf leaving and Gandalf coming back to get Frodo started on his journey. I looked it up and it was a 17 year time skip between those two events. I checked this and the previous chapter to see if that was answered in the comments. Then I checked to see if you had any blogs to explain it but you don't have any of those. So if Twilight still has an injured wing wouldn't that mean you crammed a nearly two decade time skip into at most a month? I'm just wondering how long they've been there is all.
8377279
The Mane Six don't have the luxury of waiting for two decades for the events of LOTR to happen, so I changed it into a month.
8377289
Alright thanks for clarifying that for me. So far it has been a good read, I can't wait to catch up
The Old Forest huh? So we're gonna see Tom Bombadil!
6440040 "His shirt is green, and his boots are yellow?" He wouldn't happen to be a fan of the Green Bay Packers by chance, would he?