Close Encounters of the Hobbit Kind
“So why did you want me to do this again?” Rainbow Dash asked Twilight, as they walked through the large, purple crystal hallway of the Castle of Friendship.
Twilight flashed a thin smile. “You’ll see, Rainbow. I’m sure you’ll find him quite… original.”
“Ok…” Rainbow rolled her big, violet eyes. She glanced to her left, where many diamond-shaped stained-glass windows were looking out on a beautiful summer day. Even through the purple-tinted glass, Rainbow Dash could clearly see the fresh and stark blue sky; perfect for some relaxed flying, or to practice some hard air acrobatic moves. Rainbow bet her Wonderbolt trophies that the wind was just right as well. “But Twilight! I have to practice some moves today. Look!” she pointed to the windows. “The weather’s perfect! And I heard that the pegasus weather squad will have to make it rain tomorrow, according to their schedule. I don’t think I’ve got time.” She stopped.
Twilight eyeballed her friend. “Oh, please, Rainbow Dash! It’s not that we get an opportunity like this very often, I—“
“That’s right, the weather isn’t like this every day!”
“I wasn’t talking about the weather, Dash, I was talking about him,” Twilight said. She felt the stress bubbling up inside of her, but then frowned in thought. Time to change strategies.
Dash stood still opposite her, and tapped a hoof on the bright-red carpet.
“Oh please, please, please, Rainbow Dash. Could you please help me with this?” Twilight pouted her lips in what she hoped would be an expression of cute hopefulness. “I don’t have anypony else to turn to!”
“Really,” Dash said sarcastically, she knew all too well what Twilight was trying. “What about Rarity? She would love to meet your ‘special guest.’ She always loves to meet somepony new, and I’m sure he has some ‘style,’ and ‘flair,’ the way you described him.”
Twilight didn’t give up. “Rarity’s at the spa, together with Fluttershy. It’s their weekly spa day.”
“Right.” Dash swished her brightly colored tail. “Then what about Pinkie Pie?”
“Went to Yakyakistan for some secret cupcake recipe.”
“Spike?”
“Doing a ‘guy’s afternoon’ with big Macintosh and Discord. No doubt a plan he concocted himself.”
A new excuse darted into Dash’s head. “Well, if this is really so important and needs to be studied, why don’t you let your real student Starlight Glimmer do it? She’s more of a student than me anyway.”
“Than I.”
“See, that’s what I mean.” Rainbow Dash glanced back outside over her shoulder. It really is a nice day.
Twilight Sparkle dropped her sad face and frowned again. Her eyes darted across the crystal hallway, then they narrowed. “Well, let’s make it a deal then.”
Dash was still gazing out of the window, somehow hoping that one would grow hinges and open. “Huh?”
“Yes, a deal.” Twilight stepped closer to Rainbow Dash, around her, and then blocked her view of the outside world.
Rainbow let out a sigh. “Alright, what do you want?”
“Oh I don’t want anything,” Twilight said. “I think I have something I can do for you.”
Rainbow tilted her head. “For me?”
“Yes, for you. You want to practice your flying tricks, right?”
“Uh-huh.”
“So which one are you going to try today?”
Rainbow didn’t like the challenging tone of her friend one single bit, and as she saw Twilight stepping one hoofstep closer, she felt herself doing one back. “Eh…” Dash wondered a second why she didn’t know it straight away; she’d been thinking about it since she woke up. Then it came to her. “The Bombastic Bridle Barrel-Roll.”
“Ah. How wonderful…” Twilight said, but her voice sounded strange. “And what a coincidence. I just happened to read a book about flying tricks today with all the top Wonderbolt maneuvers in it, written and illustrated in beautiful detail.”
“That’s… nice?” Rainbow muttered.
Twilight advanced another step; their noses were close now. “It is. I learned so much about all kinds of vital air acrobatic skills.” She smiled a crooked smile. “Do you know what the best angle of approach is for the Bombastic Bridle Barrel-Roll?”
“No… no I don’t.” Rainbow did another step back.
Twilight did one forward. “Well, I do. And do you know what the angular velocity on your longitudinal and lateral axes is?”
“Eh… no.” Rainbow Dash bumped against the cold wall. A shudder went through her body.
Now Twilight Sparkle was practically nose-to-nose to Rainbow Dash. “I do know that. And do you know what your helical path must be in order to start the loop after the roll?” her gaze pierced Rainbow Dash’s.
But now Dash had enough of it. She slipped to the side and escaped that piercing gaze. A few hoofsteps brought her to the window again, and she really began to search for a latch of some sorts.
Behind her, Twilight stepped in closer. “Well? Do you?”
Dash let out a sigh and turned around. “No I don’t know all that stuff. I figure it out on the fly, as I like to do. As I always do. Now where are you going with this?”
Twilight Sparkle grinned. “Well, I just might be able to help you with some ‘boring’ flight maneuver theory for your research. But only if you’re willing to help me with my own research. You know, trading assignments just like real students do.”
The word ‘student’ almost made Rainbow gag, but she realized that Twilight had a point. Usually, Rainbow Dash skipped the theory and cut right down to the action, but knowing that stuff would certainly save her a fall or two. And no matter how tough she was, no pegasus liked to crash.
Hopeful, glittering eyes from the lavender alicorn; desperate, contemplating eyes from the rainbow-maned pegasus.
“Alright, I’ll do it,” Dash finally said.
“Great! I knew I could count on you!” Twilight said, and closed her eyes with a smile. She silently wondered if that was what a little oppression felt like. Why did it feel so rewarding? She decided to ask Starlight Glimmer about it later.
They continued on their path through the grand passageway; Twilight with a gentle canter, and Rainbow with a reluctant step. They passed some more stained-glass windows, some paintings Spike had made, and some doors to various halls and chambers. The castle was big, really big. Rainbow Dash silently wondered whether Twilight herself would have seen every chamber already; she was still kind of new to her own home.
Twilight began humming a content little tune. It rolled and bounced through the echoing space.
To the cheerful little tune of the purple pony who had just extorted her, Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth and flattened her ears—it didn’t help. She shook her mane, and then decided to start a conversation; she still had some questions anyway. “So how did you do it?” Dash said, “bringing him here, I mean.”
Twilight looked over to Dash and slowed her gait. “Funny that you ask, it’s actually a new spell I created some time ago. It took me a long time to make it.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “I guess it took me a few months to make it, but the result worked like a charm. The casting process wasn’t even as loud as I had initially expected.”
“That’s… great,” Dash said, but her eyes refused to look at Twilight’s.
“It was,” Twilight continued, smiling broadly. “It’s much like the spell I used to reach out to Moondancer. The one where I got myself into one of her books. It’s called the book-form spell.”
Rainbow shook her head. “I’ve got no idea which spell you used. You use so many spells.”
“Well, see, it works like this: first I—“
“Before you’re gonna give me a complete run-down on magical theory, spare me, please,” Rainbow said, interrupting the lavender princess. “I won’t understand it anyway.”
Twilight sighed, but still bore a smile. “Alright. I’ll explain it simply then. I used a spell to transform myself into an illustration and then teleported myself into the book. I just reversed the polarization of the spell, made a few tweaks, and then managed to bring someone out of a book, instead of going inside.” She looked up at the crystal ceiling. “I had the idea a long time ago, but couldn’t quite get the inspiration. Funny how the creation of every spell starts with an idea, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, really interesting,” Dash said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Thank you.”
Not knowing whether Twilight got the message (probably not, Rainbow thought), Rainbow Dash posed another question—they still had some hallways to go. “So what did he think of it?”
“He was a bit taken aback and nervous at first, which is understandable,” Twilight said. “But that quickly dissipated. I got him out of the book at just the right moment; at the start of his journey to the Elven lands. That’s at the end of the third book, ‘The Return of the King.’”
“The Return of the King?”
Twilight stopped and looked at Rainbow Dash with wide open eyes. “Didn’t you read the books I gave you?!”
“Yes I did!” Rainbow Dash said. Then she lowered her eyes to the ground. “Just not all of them.”
“Argh!” Twilight slapped a hoof against her head. “Understanding that literature is vital to the research! How else can you understand a character from a trilogy if you’ve never even read one book?!”
“But they were so big! And I didn’t have time!” Rainbow’s eyes wandered about the room, searching for excuses, before landing back at Twilight Sparkle. “I read one book. Maybe one is enough?”
“One is enough,” Twilight repeated, but she said it with a sigh and a face full of worry. “When conducting research, it’s always vital to prepare yourself and minimize the unexpected variables.”
“The what?”
Another sigh came from Twilight Sparkle. “Never mind. Let’s go on. We’re here now.”
Then Rainbow Dash looked to the right, and realized they’d reached their destination: the throne room. With a purple flash, the golden doors opened, and the two ponies stepped inside.
“Whoa!”
Rainbow Dash couldn’t suppress a cry of amazement, as she saw the creature that sat on a throne—Spike’s throne. The creature had probably chosen the throne of the little dragon because it was the most suitable one for its size. It was a small, humanoid little being, but not quite human either. It had large, hairy feet, pointy ears much like a pony’s, and curly hair on its head. Despite the creature’s strange appearance, it was neatly dressed in a pair of fine linen trousers, a bright-red waistcoat, and even a little bowtie, dangling a bit to one side. Through slightly bewildered eyes, the creature looked at the doorway, where now two ponies stood, gazing right at him.
Of course, Rainbow Dash had read about Frodo, and Sam, and Pippin, and Merry and all the other elves, dwarves, and men that inhabited Tolkien’s tale. But seeing him like that; an unfamiliar creature in an all-too familiar hall—the contrast was too big for Rainbow Dash to fathom. Besides that, she had imagined Frodo completely differently—like a pony, even though the book had told about his kind. Imagine seeing a character—of an entirely different race—which you’ve only ever read about in books and declared nonexistent, and seeing he, she, or it in flesh and blood, right before your own two pony-eyes. Rainbow Dash wondered whether Twilight Sparkle would have had the same reaction as she herself, when she first saw Frodo.
“Rainbow Dash, Frodo Baggins; Mister Baggins, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, and motioned for Frodo to come closer.
With unsure steps, the hobbit walked towards the two colorful horses. He didn’t want to be impolite, so he stuck out his hand. “A good day to you,” he said. “Frodo Baggins, at your service.”
Rainbow Dash frowned at the slightly trembling hand.
“Come on, shake it, Dash,” Twilight said to her, as if she were talking to a little foal who didn’t know how to give a proper hoofshake.
“What is he again?” was all Rainbow Dash managed to say, her rose eyes shimmering in a dazzle. In the moment, she’d forgotten about Frodo’s race.
Twilight flinched at that totally untimely and impolite question. Frodo Baggins still stood opposite of them with his hand stuck out. The uncertainty and awkwardness radiated through the large throne room like an echo.
Then Twilight couldn’t stand it anymore, grabbed Dash’s hoof and Frodo’s hand, and brought them together. “He’s a hobbit,” she said, “and Rainbow Dash here is glad to meet you too, Mister Baggins.”
Frodo shook Dash’s blue, tough hoof and then quickly withdrew his hand. “How lovely,” he said, although he silently wished he was somewhere else, somewhere more familiar. But he wasn’t. He was here—so he might as well try to make himself acquainted with this blue, rainbow-maned horse. Frodo rasped his throat and put his hands together. “So you’re a pony too, Miss Rainbow Dash?”
To that, Rainbow Dash snorted, unfurled her wings, and flapped them. “A pegasus,” she said, with more than a little pride woven through her voice.
To the sight of Dash’s wings, Frodo’s eyes doubled in size. He had never seen something like that before. Of course, he had seen, and sometimes even ridden, his fair share of mythical animals; giant eagles, Shadowfax, wargs, a Balrog, Shelob—he had even seen the art of magic from his friend Gandalf the wizard. But never before had Frodo seen a horse and an eagle… into one beast.
“Ha! He’s already amazed by my awesomeness,” Rainbow Dash said. “Maybe we can be good friends after all.”
Twilight Sparkle threw an irritated glare towards Dash, but then looked at Frodo and said, “Well, I guess I’ll leave you two alone, then. I’m sure you’ll get along quite nicely. I’ll hear the results from the experiment from Rainbow Dash.”
To that, Rainbow swung her head. “What? Aren’t you gonna be here?”
“No. I’m not,” Twilight answered calmly. “I have a lot of other things to do. I’m behind with all my letters to princess Celestia, I still have to write to my friends in Canterlot, and I promised to help Pinkie Pie in organizing a marketing campaign for her new special cupcakes.”
Rainbow Dash’s shock gave way to a frown. “Huh? But I thought you just said that Pinkie Pie was in—“
“Oh, dear, look at the time,” Twilight said, looking at an invisible watch on her hoof. “I really have to get going. Good luck, you two! Have fun!”
And with that, Twilight left the hobbit and the pegasus behind and slammed the door shut with a surge of magic.
When the echo of the slamming door stopped reverberating through the throne room, a big, awkward silence took its place. Rainbow Dash was still looking at the door, and Frodo was looking at Rainbow Dash. After minutes of staring, Rainbow Dash turned around. “So…”
“Indeed…”
Then Rainbow Dash shook her head. Come on, Dash! You’re not as introverted as that scheming purple princess. She took a moment to observe the hobbit once more, who obviously wasn’t comfortable in Rainbow Dash’s company either. Just play it cool, Rainbow Dash. Play it cool.
“Well, let’s get this over with, alright?” Dash said, her harsh voice cutting through the silence.
Frodo Baggins flinched at the sudden sound, standing on his toes for a split second. “Eh, yes. Certainly. I would… I would love to get to know you, Miss Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings, took off, and flew past the hobbit. A small, muffled gasp escaped the Hobbit’s lips, and Rainbow Dash smiled. She flew towards the big, round table on which the cutie map was spread out, and placed herself on Pinkie Pie’s throne; the one exactly opposite of Spike’s. Suddenly she made an odd face, stood up, and plucked a piece of bubble gum out of her tail. With an annoyed sigh, she stuck it underneath the table.
Meanwhile Frodo had seated himself back on Spike’s throne, and had watched the pegasus’s movements with utmost fascination. When Dash aimed her gaze at him, however, he threw his down, pretending to study the cutie map.
“So Twilight hasn’t even told you about pegasi?” Dash said.
Frodo looked at Rainbow Dash and placed his hands on his lap. “No she hasn’t.”
“You know she can fly too, don’t you?” Dash said.
“No, I don’t. She didn’t show her wings to me like you did.”
Rainbow Dash let out a smirk. “Of course she didn’t. Twilight Sparkle is not as good a flyer as me. Sometimes I get the idea that she doesn’t even like flying.”
“Oh, really?” Frodo said.
“Yes, really.”
Then, another silence landed. Normally, Rainbow Dash would brag all about her amazing achievements as Ponyville’s most talented flyer, or about her integration into the Wonderbolts, Equestria’s number one flying defense force. But somehow, she felt it inappropriate.
Frodo was using the time to observe the throne room. The giant, bright chandelier hung above the table and spread its warm light across the whole room, reflecting from the purple crystal of the walls, ceiling, and even the windows. On the table, the cutie map lay like a miniature landscape. It wasn’t just a piece of paper, it was a crystal model of the land of Equestria. Ponyville lay at its center, and the Castle of Friendship looked like a sprouting, crystal tree in the middle of Ponyville. Frodo looked at it for a long time.
“I guess this must all be pretty new for you, huh?” Rainbow Dash finally said, her tone a little softer now.
“Indeed it is. I’ve never been here before.” Frodo looked at Rainbow Dash and chuckled. ”Well, of course not; it’s another world, after all. Your friend Twilight Sparkle already told me many things about this world… Equestria, isn’t it?”
“Yup. Equestria, the land I love.” Rainbow Dash leaned back and threw her hind legs on the cutie map. “So what has she told you already?”
With Rainbow Dash’s relaxed posture, the whole atmosphere felt more laid back. Frodo felt a bit relieved, although he was still not used to speaking with a blue, talking horse. He never would be, he reckoned. Frodo put both hands on the cutie map and thought back to his conversation with Twilight Sparkle. “Well, the way she told it, Equestria is a world where mythical, talking creatures live. And there’s magic too. Unicorns can use magic, just like Gandalf and other wizards.” Frodo rasped his throat. “Twilight Sparkle told me how she used magic to pull me out of my world, or my book… Yes, that’s how she said it, out of my book. Although I don’t really understand how she did that, to be honest.”
Rainbow Dash chuckled. “Don’t worry, Frodo. I have no idea how she did that either.”
“I see,” Frodo said with a smile. “Well, Twilight and I talked a lot about my adventures and the things I did in a book that is written about me by another author. I had written down my adventures, of course, but I had no idea somebody else wrote them down too and then published them. I believe the name was… Mister J.R.R. Tolkien.”
“That’s right,” Rainbow Dash said. Then she swung her legs off the table. “So how did it feel?”
“You mean getting whisked away out of my own world?”
“Yeah, that.”
Frodo took a moment to think, a moment to find the right words. “I… I was on the ship, setting out from the Grey Havens towards the elven lands when it happened. I had just finished saying goodbye to Sam and Merry and Pippin; I had given Sam my book.” Suddenly, Frodo veered up. “Perhaps Sam is the one who wrote and published my work. Maybe J.R.R. Tolkien is a pseudonym he chose. What do you think, Rainbow Dash. Could that be true?”
“Eh… yeah, sure,” Dash said.
“Beautiful,” Frodo said with delight. “Mystery solved.”
Dash rolled her eyes.
But then Frodo’s smile waned, and he looked at the crystal floor as his smile turned upside-down. “It’s such a terrible thought that I will never see him again. I’ll never be able to tell him how successful his book got, and how even talking ponies in another world managed to get their hands on it—or hooves, for that matter.”
“Don’t worry about it, Frodo,” Rainbow Dash said. She felt that she had to comfort the hobbit a little. “I know saying goodbye can be difficult, but you can always make new friends in the Elven lands, right?”
“Yes, perhaps,” Frodo said, but his voice was still sad.
“Hey, you know what? I’ll give you a copy of your book, you know, as a souvenir from Equestria. I’ve only got the first part of it here, but I can sneak into Twilight’s library to get the other two for you. That way you can still think about Sam when you read them.”
Frodo rubbed his curly hair and then looked up at the blue pegasus. “That’s really kind of you, Miss Rainbow Dash,” he said. “But you don’t have to steal anything from your own friend for me.”
Rainbow Dash leaned back again and grinned. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I still have a score to settle with her. Oh, and by the way, you can just call me Dash. I guess we’re sorta friends now.”
“Alright, Miss Dash.”
Rainbow Dash sighed, then remembered her question. “So go on, how did it feel?”
“Oh, yes, of course.” The hobbit said, and straightened his back. With the sleeve of his bright red coat, he tried to rub the small tears out of his eyes as secretly as he could, then started his tale. “I was on one of the ships, sailing out of the Grey Havens. There were a number of other ships as well; ships with elves from Lórien and Rivendell. When we reached the open sea, the distance between the ships grew bigger, and at one point, I completely lost sight of the others. We were alone on the seas, surrounded by nothing but low, blue waves with silver linings. Not that it mattered much, because the captain of the ship knew all too well which course to sail.”
Frodo paused and closed his eyes. He raked his memory for the things that happened next. Then he opened his eyes, and his gaze grew serious. “I can remember a strange feeling. A feeling of warmth, like a hot summer breeze. But it wasn’t a breeze; it more of a… sensation. The feeling crept from my toes to my hips, then to my neck and my head. I could feel goosebumps and I rubbed my head. My hair was standing upright as if I’d just seen a ghost. One of the sailors, a tall elf, noticed me, then came down the quarterdeck to ask me if I was alright. I said I was ok—just a little sea-sickness, I thought. It was the first time for me at sea, after all. The sailor went back to his work, and then, as soon as he stepped aside, I looked at the skies before me and a strange… cloud revealed itself.”
Frodo’s eyes went wide as he told this, and Rainbow Dash could see his hands trembling. "Yes, it was a giant, sizzling, purple cloud. It grew in size as the ship neared it. We were sailing right for it. I rushed to the quarterdeck, and asked the captain what that cloud could be. He said he didn’t know either, but he reckoned it would do no harm. The purple cloud didn’t look like a storm cloud, and the winds weren’t picking up either. With my mind somewhat at ease, I returned to the front of the ship, and gazed ahead at the growing cloud. Suddenly, a broad strip of light emanated from the cloud down to the calm, blue sea. It was like a mushroom, with the ray of light being the stem. The air felt really strange then, and I covered my eyes. Then the ship breached the pillar of light, and I could hear crackling, sparkling sounds all around me. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on a purple carpet, right here in Twilight’s castle.”
The hobbit paused, and he scratched his chin in thought. “That’s all I can remember, I’m afraid. But I reckon it is enough. Miss Twilight Sparkle told me about what it was that I saw. A spell she casted.”
“Sounds pretty awesome,” Rainbow Dash said. She did like a good action-story, and this ending to the book sounded much more interesting to her than the ending she’d heard from Twilight Sparkle.
“It was… frightening,” Frodo said.
Rainbow Dash flicked her head, throwing her bangs out of her eyes. “I bet it was,” she said, and silently wondered what she herself would do in such a situation. A part of her mind strayed away, and thought for a minute about the spell. Just how powerful must Twilight Sparkle be, if she was able to rip a fictional character right out of his own story? And the way Frodo had described it… Inside of Rainbow Dash, a sliver of amazement, and maybe even recognition, sparked for her alicorn friend. Rainbow Dash decided to pose another question. “So now that you’re here, Frodo. What do you think of Equestria?”
“Well…” Frodo gazed out of the window, which was tinted the lightest of purple. “I haven’t really been outside the castle yet. Miss Sparkle had made sure that no other horse would see me. She’d said something about variables.”
Dash let out a snicker. “Yeah, she says that a lot, believe me.”
“But Miss Sparkle said that I’m free to go when her research is done,” Frodo said. “I’m no prisoner here.”
“Of course you’re not,” Rainbow Dash said. “The only prisoners here are up on mount Tartarus.” Suddenly Rainbow Dash leaned forward; she had a cool idea. “Did ‘Miss Sparkle’ tell you about the monstrosities that have tried to conquer this beautiful land too?
“Actually, no.” Frodo said. He should have said ‘yes.’
“Good.” Rainbow Dash said. “I love a good horror story.” Suddenly, she veered up, and with a few flaps of her wings, she shot in the air before landing right on top of the cutie map. “Then I’ll tell you the story of all the horrible monsters that inhabit Equestria. Gather your guts HAHAHA!”
Frodo felt his heart sink in his chest at Rainbow’s evil laugh. He didn’t want to be impolite, however, so he swallowed and said, “Alright, go on.”
And so Rainbow Dash started telling Frodo Baggins all about the strange and dangerous beings that had lurked—and sometimes still lurked—in Equestria. She left no one out, and told about the worst of the worst she knew. Tirek, the Tantabus, Bugbears, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, changelings, King Sombra, Nightmare Moon, and other, even more terrible monsters—some of which she made up in the flow of her storytelling. The longer Rainbow Dash was talking, the more she enjoyed it. She talked on, and on, and on, and on. Outside, the sun made her shiny arc over Equestria. Soon it grew orange and began dipping low to the horizon, illuminating the throne room with a scarlet light.
Frodo’s face was easily readable, and grew more and more terrified as Rainbow Dash hurled her creepiest tales at him. Frodo’s eyes became skittish, and he felt goosebumps on his skin; or was it the falling evening that chilled him?
Rainbow Dash was still talking as the night came in cold and dark, and, just as Rainbow Dash had said, the weather patrols were already busy mixing clouds for a giant rainstorm that would haunt the evening and the next day. A distant thunderclap could be heard, and suddenly a flash of lightning illuminated the throne room. Another one made it look like there was a crack in the enormous window, racing from left to right. The weather certainly wasn’t helping to settle a Frodo’s mood. Quite the opposite: it only amplified the scary tales.
In Frodo’s mind, the horrors and monsters which he had encountered on his own travels mixed and teamed up with the monsters of which Rainbow Dash spoke. Shelob worked together with the insectoid Queen Chrysalis, skittering inside dark caves and catching all travelers unfortunate enough to pass. The eye of the dark lord Sauron became embedded in king Sombra’s iron crown, shining its hellish, unblinking, red light. The army of orcs came under the command of Tirek, and they ran across Ponyville, murdering and lighting the town on fire with greasy torches. Flim and Flam were at Saruman’s side, advising and guiding the evil wizard in his betrayal. Finally, Frodo saw Gollum team up with Discord, their two twisted minds plotting and scheming the most hideous plans. A feeling of nausea and dread washed over Frodo. Why did even this seemingly beautiful world, with its beautiful weather and its beautiful, colored ponies, have evil in it? Did the Enemy even have footholds in Equestria? Did Sauron’s minions find a home here? Frodo didn’t dare to ask.
When the wind was growing into a howling beast, raging outside on the other side of the window, Rainbow Dash finally began wrapping up her stories. The stars outside did a futile attempt to shine through the dark clouds, and rain splattered against the window, creating a trickling sound which reverberated through the large empty throne room. The sound became mixed with Frodo’s clattering teeth, which he found hard to control even after Rainbow Dash had stopped talking and flew towards her throne.
“Ha! You should see your face, Frodo,” Rainbow Dash said, clutching her stomach and laughing. “You’re even worse than Fluttershy!”
Despite his calm demeanor, Frodo frowned. “Well, it was scary, Miss Dash. I’m glad my adventures are over. The only adventure I now crave is the journey to the elven lands, where I will finally find peace. Luckily, the stories of the elves are much merrier than your dark tales.”
But Rainbow Dash didn’t stop laughing, and fell down her throne, where she continued to laugh and roll on the floor. “You should meet Fluttershy, Frodo. I think you two would get along just fine.” Rainbow Dash wiped a few tears out of the corners of her eyes. “You’re just like your book, you know. Well, how could you be different anyway?”
Frodo felt himself blushing and tried to salvage some of his scattered dignity. “Well, I think, Miss Dash, that other heroes from other tales would definitely have been scared too. Not all tales end with a hero’s safe return, and even if they do, some heroes are then changed forever—most often than not for the worse.”
Rainbow Dash dragged herself back to her seat, still limp from the laughter. “You know, Frodo, when Twilight first told me about you, I expected you to be more like Daring Do. I mean, you both have an adventure, and you both have your own books, although Daring’s books are much more fast-paced and got way more action scenes. And I’m glad they’re not as big as yours.”
“Oh really?” Frodo said, and sat up straight in a pompous posture. “Then who, may I ask, is this ‘Daring Do?’”
To that, Rainbow Dash gasped and nearly fell off her throne once more. “You’ve never heard of Daring Do?!”
“I’m afraid I haven’t,” Frodo said. “I don’t presume that I could get his or her books back in Middle Earth?”
Rainbow Dash mentally slapped herself for forgetting that Frodo was from a totally different world, but quickly regained her posture. Rainbow didn’t like the way Frodo said her hero’s name. “Well listen up, pal, because Daring Do is the fastest, awesomest, most epic and brave adventurer in all of Equestria—and of course, my heroine.”
“I see,” Frodo said, and rubbed his chin with his hand. “Well, I did some brave things in my adventures as well, you know?”
Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes and bowed forward. “Really? Because I haven’t read about that many brave things in your book ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,’ and I read the whole thing through. The only thing I read about was you getting in trouble over and over again.”
Frodo Baggins folded his arms and leaned back, looking at the blue pegasus with challenging eyes. “Is that so?”
“Yes, ‘that is so,’” Rainbow Dash countered, imitating Frodo’s polite accent.
“Like how? Name one thing.”
“Well first of all, you got stabbed by a Ringwraith on Weathertop.” Rainbow Dash said. “You didn’t even fight back or anything. Then Aragorn had to mend you with that stuff… Kingsweed, right? And after that, Elrond had to mend you too. You caused a lot of trouble and headache for them, I guess— even the horse had to take care of you, carrying you around all the way to Rivendell. Poor animal!”
Frodo wanted to object, but felt a cold pain like an icy river sweep through his body when Rainbow Dash mentioned the Ringwraiths. A lightning bolt flashed. Frodo knew the source of the pain; his old wound from the Morgul blade. As quickly as the pain had flashed, as quickly it once again subsided, and Frodo kept his composure and his challenging gaze.
During the small pause, Rainbow Dash’s mind returned to the book she’d read. “And what about the pass of Caradhras?” she said. “You and your tiny little Hobbit friends would have been trapped in the snow if it weren’t for Boromir and Aragorn plowing a path for you guys. Aragorn even carried you across!”
“Well, I suppose you have a point…” Frodo said, reaching inconspicuously for his chest. The scar was still deep and sore. “Anything else, Miss Dash?”
“Uh…” Rainbow Dash frowned in thought. “Yeah! At the bridge of Khazad-dûm in Moria, you and the rest of the fellowship would all have been burned to a crisp were it not for Gandalf. Or maybe you would have been impaled by orc swords. Or maybe you would have been shot down by their rain of arrows. Or maybe—“
“Yes, I understand,” Frodo said, interrupting Rainbow Dash. “You’ve made your point.”
Rainbow Dash sprang into the air in excitement, and hovered above the throne. “Gandalf even SACRIFICED himself to save your hobbit skins. If you ask me, that’s true loyalty. And trust me, I know some stuff about loyalty.”
Frodo hung his shoulders and sighed. “Well, if you put it that way… I-I might not have been as brave as I thought indeed.”
Rainbow Dash performed a small looping; Frodo’s following eyes rolled. When Rainbow was level again, she said, “See? I told you so. Now Daring Do, on the other hoof, does everything solo. No companions, no help, no allies. Just her awesome self—and that’s everyone she needs.”
To that, Frodo recomposed himself, and sat straight in Spike’s throne again, his arms lying on the armrests. “Yes… but what about the council of Elrond?” he felt his voice grow in strength and determination as he spoke. “At the council of Elrond, I agreed to take up the task of destroying the One Ring all by myself, didn’t I? I agreed to begin the quest to Mordor, even though I knew it would be dangerous.” Frodo paused. “Although not as dangerous as I thought. Nevertheless, I believe that takes a mighty bit of courage, if you ask me.”
Rainbow Dash weighed those words, and frowned as if she were solving a hard puzzle. “Maybe… but it wasn’t like you had any choice—it was your ring, remember? And besides, Elrond assigned you a fellowship, so in the end, you weren’t alone at all. You were like eight—“
“Nine, actually.”
“Whatever. Nine persons in total. So you weren’t as solo as you thought.”
“You’re right, I wasn’t alone,” Frodo said. “But at the end of our boat trip, at Amon Hen, I did decide to continue on my own. I ran off down the hill and towards the boats, as you may have read. That is certainly a tad brave, isn’t it? Deciding to go on all by myself?”
But Rainbow Dash wasn’t taken aback. “Yeah,” she said, “after you had to think for an hour or so before actually doing it. You know what Daring Do does? She makes decisions instantly, without hesitation, trusting only her treasure-hunter’s instinct.” Rainbow crossed her front legs. “Besides, Sam followed you and joined you, and you didn’t really seem to mind much.”
Another bolt of lightning crackled; it struck very close by. For a split second, both debaters’ faces were lit up, and both looked equally challenging. A silence filled the throne hall, broken only by the soft pattering of the rain against the window, as if a million hushed voices whispered possible arguments towards the two creatures. Rainbow Dash’s lips curled into a smile, and Frodo’s brows furrowed in thought—he was thinking of a way to dispel Dash’s arguments. He came up empty.
Suddenly, a clinking sound, followed by the sound of golden hinges, swept through the hall, and Spike came walking in the throne room.
“Hey guys, how’s it going?”
For a few seconds, Rainbow Dash stared down at the hobbit, but when she saw that he broke his gaze, she turned her head towards the purple dragon too. “Hey, Spike, how was your guy’s afternoon?”
“Too short, as usual,” Spike said. He was carrying a large, crystal plate with a pile of sandwiches on it. “I figured you’d want to have something to eat. I know it’s late, but, you know, I don’t really know what hobbits like to eat. And everyone likes sandwiches, right?”
“Sure,” Rainbow Dash said. She grabbed the plate and put it on the cutie map, taking care to balance it exactly on the Smokey Mountains, Canterlot Castle, and Vannhoover. Then she scooped up about half of the sandwiches, landed back in her seat, and began devouring them with loud, smacking noises. “Thanks, Spike,” she said, creating a rain of breadcrumbs which poured down on Equestria. “They’re good.”
“Thanks, I made them myself,” Spike said, who was more than accustomed to Rainbow Dash’s bad table manners. Then he looked at the hobbit, who still sat on his throne. “Wouldn’t you like any, Frodo?”
But Frodo Baggins was shocked—and it was not because of Rainbow Dash’s table etiquette. He was looking at Spike with his eyes wide and his mouth agape.
Spike raised an eyebrow. “Huh? What’s wrong? Is there something between my scales?”
Frodo had heard of dragons from his uncle Bilbo. He had heard about the terrible, greedy Smaug; the dragon his uncle had awoken and spoken to. The dragon which had flown up in the air and destroyed half of Laketown, while Bilbo himself sat on top of the mountain, watching his companions transform it into a fortress to defend the dragon’s abandoned hoard.
The great and terrible Smaug.
But this dragon didn’t look like Smaug at all. It was a dragon; Frodo knew that the moment he saw him. It was purple with bright-green spines, but it was much smaller than Smaug. Frodo saw that it didn’t bore any wings—not that it mattered, for the dragon was much too plump to be able to hoist itself from the ground. And instead of a thundering, roaring voice, this little dragon had a high, squeaking one. How similar the two looked—and yet how different…
Frodo opened his mouth to speak, but only a high pitched fragment of a word escaped his mouth.
Rainbow Dash looked as confused as Spike, and the two stared at each other. Then Rainbow Dash veered up. “Oh, yeah, that’s right! He hasn’t met you yet. Frodo, this is Spike; Spike, this is Frodo.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Frodo,” Spike said as he moved towards the hobbit with an outstretched claw. “Twilight told me a lot about you. Hay, you don’t want to know how often she managed to keep me awake at night, rambling on and on about that spell she was going to cast to bring you out of your story. Well, I guess it worked.”
With even more hesitation than when he’d met Rainbow Dash, Frodo returned the handshake, taking Spike’s tiny claw—only a tiny bit smaller than his own hand—and shaking it gingerly. Frodo looked into Spike’s eyes. They were dragon eyes. Poisonous green with slit pupils. He wondered whether those eyes wanted to see the world burn.
Spike looked at Frodo too, and felt the intense stare on him like the watching gaze of a guardpony. Spike turned his head towards Rainbow Dash.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Dash said, “he’s a bit shy.” She grabbed another sandwich.
“Oh, yeah, you’ve never seen a dragon before,” Spike said. “Well, maybe we can talk a bit about me and other dragons after dinner. I promise it will be awesome! But I really must be off now. I Don’t want to interrupt the ‘experiment.’” He turned his head to the left and the right, as if someone was watching him. “Hope I’m not an unexpected variable,” he muttered, then turned around and headed towards the door, his scaly feet pattering on the bare crystal floor like the rain pattering on the window. “If you need anything else, just give a yell,” Spike said behind his shoulder before he closed the door with a thud. The room fell silent.
This time Frodo broke the silence first. “What-who was that? What was that?!” he said, looking as pale and bewildered as he felt.
“Spike,” Rainbow Dash said, while munching away another sandwich. “He’s Twilight’s slave—eh… I mean assistant.” She grinned.
“Assistant,” Frodo said slowly. The words ‘dragon’ and ‘assistant’ didn’t add up to him. “You mean he’s working for Miss Twilight Sparkle?”
“Yup. Say, are you gonna finish those?”
With a trembling hand, Frodo took a sandwich from the platter and took a hobbit-sized bite. It was a tomato salad sandwich. Having some food in his stomach calmed Frodo down a bit, if only just a little bit.
With a sweep of her hooves, Rainbow Dash took the remaining slices and gulped them down. “You don’t have to be scared of him, you know? Even Angel isn’t scared of him. Spike is a very good assistant; you can make him do whatever you want”—Rainbow Dash let out a loud burp—“if you ask it nicely.”
“A dragon and an assistant…” Frodo said, the combination of words still feeling alien to him. As alien as this strange new world.
“Yeah. Spike’s been with Twilight since the day he was born, and Twilight’s raised him like her son. They’re inseparable. I’ve never really seen a closer friendship between a dragon and a pony. Actually, it’s the only dragon-pony friendship I know, but you get the point. Anyways, Spike would go through fire and water for her.” Rainbow made a face. “You get it? through fire, because he’s a dragon?”
Frodo’s lips curled up in a smile, and he felt some tension leave his body. He sat back and took another bite of his sandwich, lost in thought. An idea sprouted in his mind, as he mulled over the two words ‘dragon’ and ‘friendship.’ An idea that would help him in the discussion.
“You know, Miss Dash, you said that I was joined by Sam when I left Amon Hen in the boat, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Rainbow Dash said, wiping the mayonnaise from the corners of her mouth.
“And you said that I didn’t mind it that much, didn’t you?”
“I did,” Rainbow repeated.
Frodo sat up straight, and put his sandwich on the cutie map. His eyes sparkled. “Well, you were right, Miss Dash. I didn’t mind it at all when Sam joined me.”
Rainbow didn’t like the tone of the hobbit’s voice, and she was unsure where he was going with this.
Frodo continued. “In fact, it proved to be vital for me and the quest. If Sam hadn’t gone along, I might have been eaten by Shelob.”
“Huh?”
“Didn’t Sam write about that in the books?”
“Might be. I Only read the first one.”
“I see,” Frodo said, but he didn’t let that fact discourage him. “Well, the thing is, with all that I’ve heard, from you and Twilight Sparkle and Spike, I think I finally understand...”
“That Daring Do is way braver on her own than you are with your fellowship?” Dash’s eyes glimmered too, and she smiled.
“Not exactly,” Frodo said. “Thanks to all of you, I understand that I received so much help and support from the fellowship; from my friends. I think… no, I know, through my adventures, having a lot of friends who aid you is just as important as being brave on your own.” Frodo felt his voice growing clearer with every word, and he stood up. “I forged an iron-clad bond with my friends, and they helped me in return. From Miss Twilight Sparkle I have heard all about the history of this land, how it had been created by the magic of friendship. She also told many tales about the adventures of you and your pony friends, and how friendship aided them and yourself in many battles and treks. The Way Miss Sparkle told it, I think you of all people—eh, I mean ponies—should know the value of friendship, am I right?”
That was an answer Rainbow Dash didn’t expect. She shifted uncomfortably on her throne, and her eyes darted across the hall. “Eh… Well… I guess so—“
“And besides, I think if I’d pay attention, and ask from council from time to time, I might become braver myself.” Frodo’s voice was both gentle and direct. He felt like he was telling a heroic tale to the hobbit children of Hobbiton, and he was in his element. “Even though my adventures are over, I might be able to ask the elves about their heroic deeds. They love to tell such tales, and sing about them very often. If I’m truly going to appreciate their deeds in battle, I am certain that I will become more adept and braver myself.”
Rainbow Dash shifted, and rubbed the back of her head. “Eh… Maybe…”
Then Frodo leaned forward, and looked directly at the blue pegasus on the opposite side of the cutie map. “And I think your Daring Do cannot do such a thing, since she’s always alone on her adventures, the way you told me about her.”
“Y-yeah… T-t-that’s… I think she— Ah what the hay! You got me, Frodo.” Rainbow Dash hovered in the air and landed on the ground, a little closer to the hobbit. She sighed. “You got a point there, Frodo. I… I guess being able to fall back on someone when times are tough is a great help—and it might improve your abilities.” Rainbow Dash lowered her head; her ears drooped down in defeat.
That was it. Frodo had won. Frodo had done something everypony in Equestria would be jealous of; silencing Rainbow Dash. Frodo looked down on the blue winged horse. He was the victor, the champion. Yet he didn’t feel like one. He did feel changed, but no feeling of authority or power welled up inside his veins—those are traits the dark lord Sauron once possessed. Frodo Baggins stepped closer, and stroked Rainbow Dash gently over her brightly-colored mane. A few short strokes over her bangs, down to her neck.
Rainbow Dash could feel the bitter taste of defeat in her mouth. She had always been all about competitiveness, and this lost battle of words was hard for her to swallow. Once she felt the small, little hobbit hand on her mane, however, she felt strange. The feeling of defeat converted into a certain calmness, emanating from Frodo’s touch and travelling through her body, until it left her at the tip of her tail. Frodo stroked her again, and she swished her tail.
“Don’t worry, little pony,” Frodo said, still petting her. “I guess we have both learned a valuable lesson today, haven’t we?”
Rainbow Dash still looked down. Those comforting words from the hobbit felt like silk to her. Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and smiled a warm smile, making sure the hobbit didn’t see it. But then she decided that it didn’t matter if Frodo saw it or not. She looked up, her eyes meeting his, and the only thing she could say was, “Yes.”
Then Rainbow Dash shook her head, and her rainbow mane danced wildly in the air.
Frodo had seen horses do that a hundred times. “Did you like that, Dash?”
Rainbow Dash looked down at the ground. Her bangs covered her rose eyes. “Yes,” she said, barely audible.
“Then come here, you,” Frodo said with a teasing tone, and ruffled Rainbow Dash’s mane playfully.
That felt good too, just… just not as good as the soft strokes, Rainbow Dash thought. She did a tiny step back.
Frodo’s hand hung in the air, and he looked at the horse before him. He never expected Rainbow Dash to be head shy now, the way she averted her head and stepped back. He looked at her again, and couldn’t help but notice a change in Dash’s demeanor and posture. Was he dealing with a girl here? Or with a horse? Frodo had petted a thousand horses throughout his life, and he would certainly pet a hundred more, but that blue pony in front of him; that blue, talking pony, was different.
Rainbow Dash felt Frodo’s gaze still aimed at her, and she looked back. Two mythical creatures—a hobbit and a pegasus—standing together in a grand, crystal throne room in a mythical universe; mythical for Frodo, that was.
Dash stepped forward again. She reached out a foreleg, but didn’t look at it. She wanted to feel that hobbit hand, that calming, soothing hobbit hand, once again before they’d part. She knew this was the end. They had nothing more to discuss. Somehow she knew.
A flash of lightning interrupted the moment. It sounded like an earthquake, shattering all odd feelings and all strange emotions and all soft comfort. Nevertheless, Rainbow Dash stood there, unmoved, with outstretched hoof, and she felt Frodo’s hand.
“Well, it has been lovely, Miss Dash,” Frodo said, as he shook the pegasus’s hoof. “It has been lovely, but I am afraid tiredness has claimed me at last.”
Rainbow Dash looked up, and Frodo’s hand left her hoof. It took her a minute to find a voice to speak with. “W-w-we should go to Twilight. I-I-I guess she should have a r-r-room for you in the castle…” Why was she stuttering? She didn’t know.
“Ah! That would be lovely,” Frodo said. “If it’s not too much effort, of course.”
“N-n-no not at all,” Rainbow Dash said, but couldn’t stop looking at Frodo.
The hobbit followed her gaze to himself. “Is something the matt—Ah! I see it.” He looked down at his waistcoat, on which a mayonnaise stain was spread out. To Rainbow Dash, it looked like a heart. “Now that’s awkward, isn’t it?”
Rainbow Dash said nothing. She was the one who felt awkward. She was the one who felt like a warm, uncomfortable glow spread through her body, paralyzing her every movement.
Frodo began searching his pockets. First his left, then his right, then he frowned. “Oh could you believe it—I forgot my pocket handkerchief. Out of all the things I could possibly forget, and then I forgot—“
But he wasn’t able to finish his sentence, as the big, golden doors opened with a flash of magic, and Twilight Sparkle stepped inside the throne room.
“Good evening you two,” she said. “How are you guys doing?”
“Splendid,” Frodo said back. “I have really gotten to know Miss Dash, and I am sure that the other way around is equally true.”
“That’s great,” Twilight said, a hint of surprise in her voice, as she hadn’t expected Frodo to take the word. Then she noticed the speck of mayonnaise on Frodo’s waistcoat. “Well, I guess you must be very hungry. Shall we get some dinner? Spike made his signature pancakes, and I’m sure even a hobbit would adore them.”
“That would be lovely,” Frodo said. “Bilbo could also bake the most delicious pancakes in all of the Shire.”
“Fair enough, let’s compare them then.” Twilight Sparkle led the way, and Frodo followed suit. But before they walked out of the hall, Twilight’s horn twinkled, and the stain on Frodo’s clothes disappeared. He let out a small cry at the flash of magic. Twilight Sparkle gave him a wink. “Sorry.”
It took Rainbow Dash a moment to get her bearings, standing still in the middle of the throne room. Thoughts raced through her mind, yet at the same time she wasn’t sure what to think. She only felt. When the sound of the door filled her ears, she shook her head and followed. Where were they going again?
* *
The rest of the evening was merry and pleasant, to say the least. After a quick taste, Frodo admitted that Spikes pancakes came in close second to his uncle Bilbo’s, much to Spike’s dissatisfaction. “Then I think you’ll have to teleport me to Middle Earth,” Spike said to Twilight Sparkle, “so I can do a taste test of my own.”
Despite the delicious evening meal, Rainbow Dash found herself unable to find her appetite. It wasn’t because of her rich late lunch, but of something else; something she hadn’t experienced before. Dash didn’t mingle in the conversation, and even the dessert left her cold. When Spike said those words, they lingered on inside Dash’s mind, repeating endlessly and opening doors of hope and expectation. Spike’s words awakened a stream of thoughts. Would that be possible? Teleporting ponies to Middle Earth? Teleporting me to Middle Earth? Rainbow Dash tried her best to eat a rolled-up pancake, taking a small bite. Of course that’s possible! Twilight said she’d used the spell to teleport herself into one of Moondancer’s books. Maybe she can use the spell on other ponies too. On me? Could she?
But of course, Rainbow Dash didn’t voice those thoughts and didn’t voice those questions. She just sat there, numb, eating just one pancake with all the effort in Equestria. Luckily, nopony noticed her strange eating behavior, as far as she could see. Even Frodo was too busy telling stories he’d heard from his friends and family. He really seemed to relax after having a few of Spike’s pancakes and hearing the dragon talk about his own species. The fact that dragons kept mostly to themselves amazed Frodo, and he felt tempted to tell his new friends all about Smaug and the legends of the ancient dragons. In the end, he decided against it; Frodo felt the evening much too merry for tales like those.
When everypony’s—and every hobbit’s—belly was full, and even the teapot had run dry, Twilight and Frodo got off the table and left the dining room. Spike cleared the table, and Rainbow Dash sat on her stool, lost in thought and feeling. Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle turned around.
“Shall we go, Rainbow Dash? You’ll have to… to help make Frodo’s room ready.”
Rainbow Dash could have noticed the strange tone in Twilight Sparkle’s voice. She could have noticed the hesitation. She could have noticed the wink she gave her. She could have noticed the serious expression on her face. She didn’t, though, so Rainbow Dash ordered her wings to carry her next to Frodo. Twilight Sparkle walked to the right.
As they followed the winding hallways, even Frodo fell silent. This was a part of the castle which Twilight hadn’t shown him yet, and the hobbit looked awestruck at the beautiful stained-glass windows and ornate curtains. With a shock he realized that he was in a palace, and that he had just dined with a real princess. The fact had slipped his mind during the merry meal and the way they had talked, but now it dawned to him like a beautiful sunrise; powerful and important.
Rainbow Dash could have noticed that they were walking to Twilight’s study; not the guest chambers. She didn’t.
“I certainly love your palace, Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Frodo said. “How, may I ask, was it built? Was it a long time ago? Surely it must have taken years to complete it.”
Twilight chuckled. “No need for formalities, Mister Baggins. And as for your other questions; it’s a long story. I’m afraid we’ll have to talk about those another time.”
“I understand,” Frodo said. “I’ll remember them for tomorrow, then.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded—or was she turning her head to the window?
Outside, the storm was still going strong. The rain poured down dark, thick clouds, and they could all hear the whooshing winds. Occasionally, Luna’s full moon found a small gap in the roof of clouds and eagerly showed its face. The moonlight flashed on and off, sometimes obscure, sometimes not, and illuminated the hallway in an otherworldly, irregularly timed light. The thunderbolts added another element to this lighting—adding to the uncommon weather phenomenon.
In the changing light, Frodo squinted his eyes and managed to read some of the signs above the doors they passed by. ‘Botanical garden,’ said one; ‘library,’ said another. A third said ‘observatory,’ and Frodo wondered how the night skies of Equestria would look through a telescope. Would the constellations be different?
They approached a large, ornate crystal door, and stopped before it. Twilight’s horn flashed. Rainbow Dash could have noticed how the curtains behind her closed, making sure no light would shine on the sign above the door. She didn’t.
“This is it, Frodo. I think we’ll say goodbye now,” Twilight said, and gave a smile.
Rainbow Dash could have noticed how the smile was earnest, not jolly. And Rainbow Dash could have noticed how the smile was thrown at her, not at Frodo. She didn’t.
Frodo made a small bow towards the two ponies; first at Twilight Sparkle, and after that at Rainbow Dash. “Thank you very much for your hospitality, Twilight Sparkle,” he said to her. “And thank you for the most pleasant of companies, Miss Dash.”
Rainbow Dash avoided his gaze, but then thought twice. She looked the hobbit in the eyes—one more time.
“Well, I bid you goodnight,” Frodo said. Twilight Sparkle opened the door for him with a magical glow.
Rainbow Dash could have thought about why Twilight didn’t lead the way, or why she’d wanted her to come along, if the room was already prepared. She didn’t.
When Frodo stepped inside the room, a large, seething lightning bolt crackled through the sky. In the flash of light, Rainbow Dash saw a big structure, shaped like an arc. Then she saw it again, as Twilight Sparkle’s horn emitted a big, powerful, purple light. It grew brighter and brighter, and magically amplified electricity jolted towards the structure. It jumped from the bottom to the top, where it focused on top of the arc. In seconds, an arc of sizzling, violet magic covered Frodo, raging up and down the arc and roaring like a manticore. Frodo looked at the ponies, fear etched on his face.
Rainbow Dash looked back, equally petrified; she felt her skin tremble with the electrically-laden air. Twilight Sparkle closed her eyes, concentrating on the spectacular spell. Then everything went dark, only Rainbow Dash’s cry continued.
“FRODO!”
Next to her, Twilight Sparkle lowered herself to the ground. The spell had clearly taken its toll on the alicorn princess. It was only the second time she’d ever cast it.
Rainbow Dash bolted off towards the arc, flying up and down, left and right, as if Frodo would magically appear from behind the structure. A stray bolt of electricity struck her, and her mane and tail jumped upright. Rainbow flapped to the ground in defeat, but frowned as heavily as she’d ever done.
“Why did you do that?!” she yelled at Twilight Sparkle.
With a groan, Twilight lifted her head and said, “He had to go sometime. I hinted at you, but you didn’t notice.”
“HINTED?!” With two vigorous flaps, Rainbow Dash stood next to the alicorn princess. She grabbed Twilight Sparkle and lifted her off the ground as if she weighed nothing more than Angel bunny.
“I wanted to say goodbye. I still wanted to say so many more things to him. I wanted to… wanted to…” Rainbow’s voice trailed off, and she slowly lowered Twilight Sparkle to the ground, until she stood on her own four hooves again—a bit unsteady. “Why, Twilight? Why like that?” Dash said, her voice much softer now.
Twilight Sparkle swayed, but then Rainbow Dash supported her. “He would have been scared if I’d prepared him for it.” Twilight said. “You know, it’s just like a dentist; if you don’t know when it will happen, it will hurt less.”
Rainbow’s mind couldn’t grasp that, although she did understand.
“I was afraid too, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight continued. “I was afraid he would like it too much here. I was afraid he wouldn’t want to go back. You know as well as I that couldn’t happen. This is Equestria, the land of ponies. He would always feel like an outsider here.”
“But I—“
“And of course, I was afraid of that too,” Twilight Sparkle said, interrupting Rainbow Dash, but knowing all too well what she wanted to say.
“But how did you know?” Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Were you eavesdropping on us?”
Twilight threw a calm, soothing glance at Rainbow Dash; her voice was gentle. “No, Rainbow Dash, I could see it. I had my suspicions when I summoned you two for dinner, and then, at the dinner table, I knew for sure.”
Now Rainbow’s voice decreased in harshness too. She felt limp and empty. “But, how…” her voice trailed off into a hushed whisper.
Twilight Sparkle tried to smile; it required some effort, both physically and mentally. “Trust me, Rainbow Dash, I’ve seen that look in Spike’s eyes often enough. I knew what you were feeling; what you still feel.”
The two ponies were standing in Twilight’s study room. Many tables with all kinds of contraptions, books, and even vials of liquid were standing in orderly rows next to each other. The arc stood in the middle, like a giant upside-down horseshoe. To the right, beside a large bookcase, were some cushions. It was the place where Rainbow Dash was always reading the Daring Do books she borrowed. Dash walked Twilight towards the corner and helped her lay down on the ground. Twilight grabbed a few cushions and Rainbow Dash slipped them underneath her hooves, knees, and elbows.
“I’m so sorry I had to do it, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said. “But you must understand that I had no choice. The moment would come sooner or later.”
“Yes,” Rainbow Dash said, but she didn’t hear herself talking.
Twilight motioned for her to sit down, and Rainbow Dash did, forgetting to grab a cushion to sit on.
“Will he be okay?” Dash said.
Twilight Sparkle put a hoof on her friend’s. “Yes, don’t worry. I put him back at the exact same point where I teleported him from; the ship sailing for the Elven lands. He won’t feel a thing, believe me. I can tell from experience.”
To the joke, Rainbow Dash didn’t laugh. Suddenly, like a cold wind, she felt something creep up inside of her. It was a question, her most dreaded fear, and she asked it, as she knew how tidy Twilight Sparkle was. She asked the question. “Will he remember me?”
Rainbow Dash felt Twilight’s hoof shudder. She saw Twilight casting her gaze down. She saw her ears hanging limp. She saw her tail wrapping up as if to protect herself. And then she knew enough.
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash.”
Dash felt her eyes burning. She jammed them shut and looked away; her hoof retreated. But she refused to diminish into self-pity or break out in tears. Rainbow Dash didn’t think in problems; she thought in solutions. “Can we bring him back?” she said with a croaking voice.
A difficult question. Twilight Sparkle would have to ask permission from princess Celestia, as she had asked for when she’d started this experiment. She would have to prepare the teleportation device, repairing it, gathering and cutting enough focusing crystals. She would have to study the spell for a long time and improve it, as she wasn’t sure whether she could take it if she would have to cast it again. It was an operation which would take months to start up. But for what? For a silly love affair which had sprouted accidentally? For a love which would have to be rebuilt from the ground up? For a romantic game of which Frodo knew next to nothing?
No.
But for the sake of love? For the sake of friendship in its purest form? For her own friend? For Rainbow Dash?
“Yes.”
“W-w-what?”
“Yes,” Twilight Sparkle repeated. “I might be able to do it. It would take a mighty bit of preparation, but in theory, I could do it again. In fact, I was already planning on doing it again, however with another character from The Lord of the Rings. I’ll have to ask permission from princess Celestia, but I’m sure she’ll approve if I tell her the whole story. I bet that I can even”—Twilight swallowed—“I bet I can even give him his memory of Equestria back.”
Then Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold it anymore. She cried, but not of sorrow. Tears dripped on the crystal floor, and her shoulders shocked up and down. She buried her head in her hooves, as not to show Twilight Sparkle her weakness. It was weakness in Rainbow’s eyes. But Twilight didn’t care. She was just glad the hard part was over. The ending.
Rainbow Dash wept for a little longer, but then—as soon as she could—dried her tears and got up on her hooves. She looked Twilight Sparkle straight in the eyes. “Thank you,” Dash said, then stuck out her hoof.
Twilight took it, and together the ponies walked back into the hallway. Soon they were talking again, and after some more minutes, they were laughing too. Rainbow Dash asked whether the whole thing was really an experiment, but Twilight didn't want to say anything about that. She didn’t call it an ‘experiment’ anymore, but an ‘encounter.’ A close encounter of two individuals from different dimensions. Rainbow Dash asked Twilight what she’d learned from it, and Rainbow Dash quickly regretted that question, as Twilight began to shower and drown her in statistics and data.
“But the most interesting thing,” Twilight said, as they reached the dining hall again, “was to see how two beings from two different worlds could still become friends. I knew from the start that you would get along nicely.”
“But how?” Rainbow Dash said.
“Because of your differences. I knew you could learn something from Frodo the moment I finished the trilogy, and the other way around too, of course.”
Dash said nothing but smiled an awkward smile. “Yeah, throw two creatures in a room and see what happens. Well, you saw what happened alright.”
Twilight Sparkle sat down on a chair and looked around for Spike. She saw the little tip of his tail peeking out of the kitchen. No doubt he was fast asleep. When Rainbow Dash sat down too, Twilight returned a smile and said, “You don’t have to tell things you don’t want to tell.”
“You can know everything, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said. “Besides, it will be good for your research.”
“My research is largely complete, actually,” Twilight said.
“Huh? How? You said you weren’t eavesdropping on us, right?”
Twilight swished her tail. “Well, firstly, I know everything I wanted to know from Frodo; about his race, about his world, about how he experienced the magical teleportation process. And secondly, because this was a victory for friendship—interdimensional friendship.”
“But that doesn’t answer my question,” Rainbow Dash said. “Why is your research almost complete?”
“Because you did everything for me, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, smiling a warm smile to her friend across the table.
THE END
Author's Note
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the tale. I always love combining two of my favorite things and mixing them together in a story. If you liked this My Little Pony-The Lord of the Rings mashup, then stay tuned, for I am currently working on my first book, which will also be about My Little Pony and The Lord of the Rings. I don't want to give everything away, so the only thing I'll say is that it is about two characters who share an ultimate passion for nature...
See you in my next story! 
