Chapter 5

Rivendell

When Pinkie awoke, she found herself with a splitting headache and a rumbling in her tummy, with no knowledge of how she got in this bed with silk sheets. She could hear birds chirping, and the warm feeling of sunlight hitting her. Slowly, the memories came flooding back. She remembered Strider'd lead them all from Weathertop, running at full speed. Sam had said they were six days from Rivendell, and Frodo would never make it till then. Frodo wasn't the only one fatigued and slowly fading. The party had barley had anything to eat, Pinkie especially, and the party planner was known for her high metabolism, so full speed running combined with very little food resulted in Pinkie collapsing. The party kept running, with Applejack and Rainbow Dash carrying Pinkie on their shoulders, until they all were found by an elf who took Frodo. At the same time, Strider took them on another path, to avoid the Nazgûl but it still took at least four days running at full speed and not stopping. Eventually, most of the party, especially the Elements were exhausted, but they'd made it to the gates of Rivendell. There, they met Lord Elrond. The Elf Lord greeted them, and ordered his servants to bring Pinkie to one of the rooms in Rivendell, and leave a plate of food next to her bed. That's what Pinkie saw now. A platter full of fruit, and some kind of sweet dough sprinkled with sugar. The girl scarfed down the food instantly, already feeling a bit better. She stretched wide and took a good look at her surroundings. The room she was in was large, and airy. She had a balcony right outside, where she could see the glow of the sun lighting the city. Rivendell looked beautiful, almost reminiscent of Canterlot. On the desk next to her bed, she found folded clean clothes. That was a relief, as what she was wearing right now, well, they were a little ripe. A dark red tunic and brown trousers were what was folded, so Pinkie swiftly removed her shirt and pants, wearing her underwear. The new garments had taken some getting used to, the extra parts were a bit different on this body, but now they were fine. She pulled on the trousers and the tunic and then went to the mirror to check herself out. They didn't look bad, a bit big, but she was sure Rarity could fix them up a bit, but all in all, she thought they looked good. A bit like what Strider was wearing. With another stretch and a few smacks of her lips, Pinkie left the room, being greeted by the warm sun and the scenery of Rivendell. The Elven City was intricately designed, most of it seeming to be without any ceilings. The breeze was so refreshing, and she was allowed a moment of breath now, after the run from Weathertop.

“PINKIE!” she heard, looking down and seeing her friends waving at her from a lower balcony. A wide grin on her face, Pinkie raced down and leapt into a group embrace, silent tears threatening to spill from all the Elements. They had been worried about their friend, taking turns watching her through the days she was in bed. But now, the Elements were whole once again, and they'd been summoned to a meeting with Lord Elrond and the other members of the party, but first, they could explore Rivendell. The Elements took that opportunity, finally able to breathe and forget a bit about the impending doom that was looming above. They all separated for a bit, to explore different parts of the Elven Kingdom.

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Fluttershy wandered away from the main city of Rivendell, to the outskirts. She had been following a butterfly, when she stumbled upon a small group of people, standing on the beach and for some reason pointing at a small round disk on the water.

“Oh my. What are they doing?” she asked herself, slowly walking over. They were tall and lean, with clothes of earthy colors, and their hair was mixes of brown and yellow. One of them, in a mossy green tunic and bright yellow hair, saw Fluttershy approach. He waved her over, a smile on his face.

“Greetings, milady. You are one of the Elements of Harmony, are you not? It is an honor. I am Legolas, son of King Thranduil of Mirkwood, the Woodland Realm. What is your name, my friend?” he asked.

“I'm Fluttershy. I apologize, I didn't realize you were a prince,” she said. Legolas smiled.

“There's no need to stand on Ceremony. We of Mirkwood rarely do,” he said. The shy girl looked down, brushing a strand of hair behind her. Legolas held out a bow with intricate markings on it to Fluttershy. The former pegasus knew what the weapon was, they weren't uncommon in Equestria.

“Do you know what this is?” he asked. Fluttershy nodded, nervously looking at the weapon. She'd only ever seen it far away, so seeing it this close up, close enough to touch, it was intimidating.

“Do you think you could hit that target out there?” Legolas asked, pointing at the target on the water. Fluttershy's eyes widened, seeing the distance the target was from the shore.

“Oh no. I can't. It's too difficult. I don't want to fail,” she said. Legolas smiled, taking her hand to touch the bow.

“I can help you through it, Fluttershy,” he said, coming behind her, and having her grip the bow. Pulling an arrow from his quiver, he nocked it in the string. Then, taking Fluttershy's other hand, he helped her grip the fletching of the arrow.

“Now, when you pull back on the arrow, don't try to aim for the target, aim for where you think the arrow should go,” Legolas said. Fluttershy gulped, as she felt Legolas pull up her arm, and then pull her other arm back, drawing the arrow. Her eyes widened as she saw how easy it was, so, with a deep breath, she closed her eyes and loosed the arrow. The high pitched whistle flew through the air, and then, there was silence. Slowly opening her eyes, Fluttershy gasped. The arrow had hit directly in the bullseye, dead center. Legolas smiled.

“You have a gift, Fluttershy. It is rare for someone other than an elf to have such accuracy with little training,” he said. Fluttershy smiled, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, and reached for another arrow.

“I want to try and hit another one,” she said. Legolas smiled, helping her to restring the arrow.

==========~o0o~==========

Rainbow Dash found herself in a large room, with the same openness and illuminated from the sun. There were globes, sextants, and charts. This must have been a study of some sort. Up a flight of stairs, Rainbow Dash could see a pedestal on a balcony, and she saw a figure seemingly staring at a wall. Ascending the stairs, Rainbow Dash could see that the figure was actually looking at a large mural. The images of a large dark figure with glowing eyes, and below it, a bearded man glowing and with a broken sword.

“Whoa. That must have been one hay of a fight,” she said.

The figure turned to her and said, in a low voice, “It was. The Battle of the Last Alliance was said to have been one of the greatest battles of the last age.” The figure was a man, with long hair and neatly trimmed facial hair. His eyes shone with a regality, and he was clothed in a leather surcoat and chainmail, with a red tunic.

“Pardon the question, but your hair is very..unique. I've naught seen anything like it,” he said. Rainbow chuckled.

“Yeah, it's..uh..one of a kind. I'm Rainbow Dash,” she said, holding out her hand. The man's eyebrow raised slightly, before taking Rainbow's hand and kissing the top.

“An honor, Milady. I am Boromir, son of Lord Denethor, Steward of Gondor,” he said. Rainbow gingerly pulled her hand away, and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Um, listen, Boromir. My friends and I are new here, and we were given new weapons, but we have no idea how to use them. Do you..uh..do you think you could help?” she asked, stuttering in a very un-Rainbow Dash way. Boromir smiled genuinely and bowed.

“I would be honored, Miss,” he said, straightening back up and headed for the exit to the room. Rainbow was following, oddly making an effort to keep the pace of the man's long strides, and not to get closer to him. Really. That's not why.

==========~o0o~==========

Rarity was in awe. The fashion of the elves was breathtaking. She knew she had to get samples of the fabric before they left. The entire city was so aesthetically pleasing to the fashionista, it was almost overwhelming. Every garment seemed meticulously hand stitched, and the beaded embroidery's were immaculate.

“Are you enjoying your stay in Rivendell?” a wistful, elegant voice asked. Rarity gasped. Lady Arwen, the daughter of Lord Elrond had appeared. The beautiful elven maiden had a smile on her face, her circlet shining in the light of the sun.

“Lady Arwen! I apologize, I didn't see you there,” Rarity said, getting to one knee. Arwen chuckled, motioning for the girl to stand.

“That was the intention, Rarity. I wanted to surprise you with a gift to acclimatize yourself here in Rivendell,” she said, reaching into her long flowing layers and pulling out a beautiful yard of fabric. Rarity gasped. It was violet, the same color as her hair, but inlaid in it were small, sparkling stones. The entire fabric looked like this. It was exquisite.

“The stones are a priceless metal called Mithril. They will never dull or lose their shine. I eagerly await to see what you will create with this,” the elf said, as Rarity took the fabric.

“Milady, I...thank you, but I can't accept a gift like this,” she said. Arwen shook her head.

“I won't take 'No' for an answer, Rarity. You and your friends are far from home. This is my way of helping you to get back into your element,” she said, pushing a strand of hair away from the fashionista's face. Rarity smiled, as Arwen walked away, and stared at the fabric.

“That's the problem. I don't know how to get back into my element,” she said more to herself than to Arwen. It was true, like her friends, Rarity had lost the spark from her Element. Even if she was back at her boutique in Ponyville, she couldn't do anything with the beautiful Mithril fabric. The thought did cross her mind to have Twilight help her tap into her inner self, as Applejack and Rainbow Dash did, but her magic was not as strong as Twilight's and rather than risk harming herself or others, Rarity decided to leave the issue be. It would not be long before the Council and Rarity was instructed to be there.

==========~o0o~==========

“Hmm, urgent our mission is. Set off soon, we must,” Master Yoda said. Gandalf and Elrond were talking with the Jedi Master to discuss what would be done once the party left Middle-Earth. Speed was of utmost importance, but at the same time, they couldn't alert Palpatine to their presence. Gandalf had received word that battalion's of Stormtroopers were scattered across most of the North and South of Eriador, along the border of the Misty Mountains and congregated around Isengard. It wasn't hard to derive, from that evidence, that Saruman was involved, which made things infinitely harder, as the White Wizard would surely have spies.

“Perhaps it would be best to go to Lothlorien. Lady Galadriel could be of great council,” Elrond said.

“Hmm. We would need to take an unorthodox route to get there. Somewhere that neither Saruman, nor Palpatine would suspect,” Gandalf said.

“Hmm. Tunnels, are there? Somewhere to obscure us?” Master Yoda asked. Gandalf sighed, taking a few puffs from his pipe.

“There is the Mines of Moria. It's located beneath the central Misty Mountains,” Elrond said.

“Hmm. Easily concealed, we will be?” Master Yoda asked.

“Yes. Saruman would never believe that we'd pass through Moria purposefully. But, Moria is concealed enough that the Stormtroopers wouldn't find us. The exit would bring us close to the outskirts of Lothlorien, where Lady Galadriel dwells,” Gandalf said.

“Hmm. Dangerous, are these mines?” Master Yoda asked.

“Extremely. Dark places such as that are infested with Orcs and other foul beings, but there are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world. We will need to be well prepared before we set off for Moria,” Gandalf said. Master Yoda frowned. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka would need to be told about this, to analyze the threat level in Moria. Even if the Orcs weren't under Palpatine's control, they would still be lethal opponents that would kill the Elements at a moment's notice.

“Hmm. Discuss this at the council, we will?” Master Yoda asked.

“Yes, we will. The map through Moria, the preparations for the journey, the guides that will be chosen, all will be decided at the council,” Elrond said.

“Need allies, we do, in the fight against Palpatine. Help us in that decision, Lady Galadriel could?”

“I do not see why not,” Gandalf said, stroking his beard.

“I suggest we all convene for the council and gather the others,” Elrond said, standing up and straightening his robe. Master Yoda and Gandalf bowed, slowly exiting the room to find the others.

“Believe Saruman to be a powerful enemy, you do, Gandalf?” Master Yoda asked the wizard.

“Saruman was the head of my order. He is wise and powerful and if Palpatine can entice him, he will be determined to do whatever he wishes. We must be cautious when dealing with him, my friend.”

==========~o0o~==========

Saruman entered Palpatine's chambers, the metal sliding doors closing behind him. He had been tirelessly trying to discover a thread of darkness in the prisoners that Palpatine had. It had taken long hours and numerous spells, but he finally found it.

“My lord, I've discovered what you asked for,” he said. Palpatine smiled menacingly, approaching the White Wizard.

“Well done, Saruman. What have you discovered?” he asked.

“You were correct. The younger one was corrupted once before, and it seems that darkness still lingers within them. It shouldn't be hard for them to fall again. The elder one was harder. It took a lot of power, and much digging, but I found it. The key to exploiting and manifesting their darkness,” he said, handing a data file to Palpatine. The Sith Lord, his yellow eyes shining, took the data file and placed it within the folds of his robe.

“Excellent, my friend. You have done well,” he said. The door to the chambers opened again, revealing Darth Vader standing outside.

“Master, an emissary of Sauron has requested an audience with you,” he said. Saruman and Paplatine said nothing, exiting the chamber and heading to the throne room, with Vader beginning to follow.

“Lord Vader, I want periodic watches of the prisoners. See to it that they do not pass, understood?” Palpatine said. Vader bowed, and with a sweep of his cloak, headed for the detention area. The sergeant stood at attention when Vader walked in.

“Lord Vader, to what do we owe the pleasure?” he asked. Vader held up a gloved hand.

“Spare me the pleasure, Sergeant. I am here at the command of the Emperor. He has ordered periodic watches of the prisoners,” he said. The sergeant gulped, as Vader's breathing became more pronounced.

“My lord, the Emperor need not worry. The prisoner's cannot get away,” he said, but Vader shook his head.

“The Emperor has tasked me to make sure the prisoner's do not pass on, and I will do it. Open the cell door, Sergeant. I will not be long.” Taking his long strides down the cell block, Vader came to the open cell which contained Palpatine's prized prisoners. The helmeted Sith Lord entered, taking a long look at the suspended figures. His Master's decision to contain the prisoner's in this way had at first made Vader skeptical. Carbonization did not usually result in a living victim, and yet, they were perfectly contained in carbon sleep. Surveying the vitals and life signs on the sides of the carbonite blocks, Vader wondered what the prisoner's were thinking at that moment. Were their brains going a mile a minute. Were they trying to think of different ways to escape, or had they resigned themselves to this fate? Whatever they were thinking, it was none of Vader's concern. With another sweep of his cloak, the door to the cell closed as Vader went to report back to Palpatine. If there was one thing Vader could admire, it was planning. Twilight Sparkle and friends would surely make a mistake when they discovered that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were prisoner's on the Death Star, frozen in carbonite.

Author's Note

So, how's that for a cliff hanger? Next chapter is the Council of Elrond and the first leg of the Journey to the Mines of Moria. Stay tuned.