The Battle of Balin's Tomb

As the Fellowship journeyed through Moria, their eyes becoming adjusted to the low light from Gandalf's staff, they wondered just how a place as BIG as this could have possibly lost most of it's population. What could have killed all the Dwarves here? It couldn't have been the Goblins, no matter how big of a pack they were. After what they assumed was a few days of walking, with a few stops to rest and recuperate, they found themselves in what was a cavern with mining equipment that was long abandoned. Gandalf held his staff out over the chasm, which only served to demonstrate how dark it was, as all they could see was a black void.

“The treasure of the Dwarves was not gold, or jewels, but mithril. Thorin gave Bilbo a shirt made of mithril rings,” Gandalf said, as the party thought they could see the glistening of the aforementioned mithril.

“Ho! That was a kingly gift,” Gimli said.

“Yes, it was. I never told him, but it's worth may have been double the value of the Shire.” Soon, they found themselves at a three-way crossroads.

“I have no memory of this place,” Gandalf said, his face equally as lost. So, as they all sat down to rest, Gandalf sat on a rock, staring at the three doors, with only smoke rings from his pipe to indicate he was still alive.

“Are we lost?” Pippin whispered.

“I don't think so,” Merry replied.

“I think we are,” Pippin said.

“Shush, you two! Gandalf's thinking,” Twilight whispered.

“Merry?”

“What?”

“I'm hungry,” Pippin said. As Frodo leaned back a bit to get some rest, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. A figure was scrambling up the rocks to get to the Fellowship. Luckily, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie and Twilight saw it too. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were napping. The five of them rushed over to Gandalf in panic.

“There's something down there!” Pinkie said to the wizard.

“It's Gollum,” Gandalf said, not taking his eyes off the three doors. “He's been following us for three days.”

“He escaped the dungeons of Barad-Dûr!” Frodo said.

“Escaped? Or was set loose?” Gandalf asked. Had the five looked back, they would have seen the shining eyes of Gollum, watching them.

“Who exactly is Gollum?” Twilight asked.

“He's a cursed wretch who owned the Ring for 500 years. It turned him into a gnarled shadow of who he was,” Frodo said.

“And who was he?” Pinkie asked.

“He was once one of the river folk, not so different from Hobbits, but the Ring of Power can ensnare easily. Smeagol's life is a sad story. Smeagol was once his name before the Ring twisted him. You see, he hates and loves the Ring, as he hates and loves himself. He will never be rid of his need for it,” Gandalf said.

“It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill him when he had the chance,” Frodo hissed.

“Pity? It was pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many people that live deserve death, some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be so eager to deal out death and judgement, my lad. Even the very wisest cannot see all ends.” Frodo sighed, sitting down on a rock next to Gandalf, as the four Elements went to the other side of the wizard. Be it the bleakness of the mines or the explanation about Gollum, the Elements weren't feeling as..cheery as usual. Add to that that they weren't sure where Princess Celestia was or even IF she was alive, and well, it was all very hard for them.

“I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened, with either the Ring or the Empire,” Frodo said.

“I wish we'd stayed and helped Princess Celestia,” Twilight said with her head down.

“I wish the Emperor had never attacked Equestria,” Applejack said with a sour expression.

“I wish everyone would be happy again,” Pinkie said with a sad look in her eyes. Gandalf smiled at the five of them.

“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. Frodo, Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. Twilight, Celestia sent you to Yoda for your safety. You were meant to come here with your friends, in order to thwart the Emperor a bit longer. Applejack, if what I've seen of you and your friends is any indication, then I do not think Equestria, nor it's people, would go down lightly. Pinkie Pie, things may seem bleak now, but I assure you, my dear. Everything will be alright again. And aren't those very encouraging thoughts?” The five smiled at Gandalf, as his eyes perked up.

“Ah! It's that way!” he said, pointing at the third door on the right.

“He's remembered!” Merry said.

“No, but the air doesn't smell so foul down here. If in doubt, Merriadoc, always follow your nose,” Gandalf said, placing his hat on his head and leading the Fellowship down the stone steps. It became clear that they were in a more spacious part of the mines as the air didn't feel so trapped. “Let me risk a little more light,” Gandalf said, his staff becoming brighter and illuminating rows upon rows of stone pillars. It was mesmerizing. “Behold! The great realm and Dwarf city of Dwarrowdelf.” The party was in awe, even the Jedi.

“Now there's an eye opener and no mistake,” Sam said with astonishment. As the party continued on through Dwarrowdelf, something caught the corner of Gimli's eye.

“OH!” he exclaimed as he rushed to what seemed to be a set of open, stone doors. What he was rocked him to his core. A large stone coffin, and surrounding it were more Dwarf corpses. There was writing atop the coffin, as Gimli fell to his knees in front of it, crying. The rest of the party entered the tomb, a few of them going to console Gimli (Pinkie and Fluttershy), a few surveying to make sure there were no traps (Aragorn, Applejack, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka), and a few more standing guard (Rainbow Dash, Legolas and Boromir). The remaining members, Gandalf, Twilight, Master Yoda, Rarity and the Hobbits clambered around the coffin.

“Here lies Balin, son of Fundin, Lord of Moria. He is dead, then. It's as I feared,” Gandalf said as he read the top of the coffin. With careful fingers, Gandalf took the ruined book that was still clutched in the hands of one of the corpses. “They have taken the bridge, and the second hall. We have barred the gates, but cannot hold them for long. Drums, drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow moves in the dark. We cannot get out. They are coming,” he recited. Suddenly, a large crash sounded, as they watched a bucket atop the well situated in the room, fall through the hole and deep, deep down into the bowels of the mines. It was so loud, they were sure it would alert every living thing in the mines to their location, and it was Pippin that caused it. With a glare, Gandalf slammed the book shut, and advanced on Pippin. “Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!” he snapped, grabbing his hat and staff that he'd given Pippin to hold when they'd come in. As silence settled, a scrambling could be heard. Sam pointed at Frodo's hip where his sword, Sting, was glowing blue. Gandalf's sword, Glamdring, was also glowing in kind.

“Orcs!” Legolas said, as the party heard the scrambling getting closer.

“Get back! Stay close to Gandalf!” Aragorn told the Hobbits and the Elements. They obeyed, staying behind the Grey Wizard, as the others pulled out their weapons. Boromir and Legolas rushed to the door to bar it with the scattered weapons on the ground of the tomb. Slamming it shut, but not before a black arrow pierced the wood right near Boromir's head, the two slammed two axes onto the handles. But, it wouldn't do any good. They knew that.

“They have a Cave Troll,” Boromir said with a sarcastic chuckle, as he took his place with the Fellowship. Weapons brandished, they waited, as the scrambling got closer. Suddenly, an opening appeared in the door, as an axe broke through it. Aragorn sent an arrow flying through it, met with a pained shriek. With a roar, Gimli stood up on Balin's coffin and brandished two axes.

“Let them come! There is one Dwarf yet in Moria who still draws breath!” As more breaks appeared in the wood, and more arrows were loosed from Aragorn and Legolas, the door finally busted open and the Orcs rushed in. Aragorn let one more arrow fly, that hit squarely in the head of one of the advancing Orcs, then pulled out his sword.

“Charge!” Gandalf yelled, as he, the Hobbits and the Elements rushed into battle. Sam was holding his own very well, mixing shots with his sword and frying pan.

“I think I'm getting the hang of this,” he said to himself. Rarity was currently holding up a magical shield in one hand and brandishing her sword in another. Taking a few cues from Boromir's technique, she bashed a few of the Orcs with the shield, while slicing at a few more with her sword.

“Take that, you ruffians!” she said. Applejack was duel wielding, fighting a group of Orcs and using her extraordinary strength against them. It shocked her when, after landing a decidedly powerful blow to one, she popped his head clean off his body. For a moment, she was frozen. She couldn't believe she'd taken another life, but realized that the Orcs would do the same, and gladly too. So, with renewed resolve, she started aiming for more vital areas. Fluttershy was up on one of the higher areas with Legolas, who was picking shots with his bow, till a few climbed up to stop him. He quickly dispatched them with his elven knives, but then a hidden Orc leapt at him with a roar, but he didn't hit his mark. He fell, an arrow lodged in his forehead. An arrow loosed by Fluttershy. These creatures were not merciful, and so, she wouldn't be, sniping as many as she could.

The Jedi were all technique. Ahsoka, brandishing her two lightsabers tightly, sliced through Orc parts left and right. Her main lightsaber was for defense, while her shoto saber was for slicing. Obi-Wan was all defense, swatting Orcs and arrows away with the Force, and dispatching any with his lightsaber that got close. He'd racked up quite the count of severed arms in that tomb. Master Yoda was bouncing from Orc to Orc, using his size to his advantage, as they started attacking their allies in order to get to the small green Jedi Master. Gandalf held both his staff and Glamdring in his hand and was felling Orcs as quickly as they came. Aragorn, his sword held in two hands, swung left and right and chopped arms, legs and heads. Boromir was clutching his sword and shield, and bashing the Orcs then slicing. Gimli was slicing at the Orcs with his axes in hand while atop Balin's coffin. Rainbow Dash was speeding through as many Orcs as she could, her sword a blur. Twilight also held a magical shield, but hers was a bit stronger than Rarity's, and she brandished a sword in her other hand, that she'd enchanted. Observing the outward appearance of the Orcs, she concluded that they had to be afraid of light, so she enchanted her sword to set them aflame when she hit them. Pinkie Pie was the most unorthodox of the bunch. Duel wielding like Applejack, Pinkie was the definition of unpredictable at that moment. Using her incredible speed and boundless energy, Pinkie managed to get some of the Orcs so exhausted, they collapsed. For the few that managed to keep up with her, she landed a few kicks right to their temples, and they fell down instantly. Everything seemed to be going well, until the Cave Troll burst in. The giant beast roared, as he carried a large club, that he swung down, straight at Gimli, who luckily leaped out of the way, merely resulting in Balin's coffin shattering. For the troll, it wasn't clear who was friend of foe, as he swung not only at the party, but at the Orcs too. The Jedi tried holding him back with the Force, but the creature was so big and the Orcs were so numerous, that eventually they had to let go. Twilight started flinging magical bolts at the Troll, who angrily advanced on her. Before he could do anything, he felt arrows piercing him. Fluttershy leapt into the air, unfurling her meta-physical wings and flying over to the other balcony, continuing to fire her arrows. The Troll swung at her like she was a fly, but to no avail. The warriors sliced at the trolls legs to try and bring it down, but that only succeeded in making him angrier, as he swung at Boromir and Aragorn. When Twilight landed a well-placed shot to his hand, and he dropped the club, they thought they'd stopped him. But, he merely grabbed a large spear that was on the ground and brandished it. Now the party had to be careful, as the spear was sharp enough to pierce any of them. Merry and Pippin had climbed up with Legolas and were hurling rocks at the Troll, while Frodo kept close to Gandalf and stabbed as many Orcs as he could with Sting. The chain that was wrapped around the Trolls neck, that he now used as a whip, got caught on one of the destroyed pillars, giving Legolas an opportunity. Ambling up the chain, Legolas strung two arrows into his bow and shot directly at the top of the Troll's head, but to no avail. The beast's head was so thick, that the arrows bounced off. Shaking his shoulders, the Troll managed to get Legolas off, then set his sights on Frodo.

The rest of the party noticed, as they did everything they could to make him go after anyone else. Twilight picked up with flinging her magic bolts, Pinkie was now throwing discarded axes, Fluttershy was flying in a circle and shooting her arrows, Applejack was trying to physically break the Troll's legs, and the Jedi were sending Force push after Force push at him, but nothing would deter him. The Orcs had started retreating, hoping the Troll would kill the intruders. Frodo fled as fast as he could from the Troll but the beast cornered him, and then, pierced Frodo with the spear. The Fellowship was frozen, as the Hobbit fell. Sam bashed as many of the remaining Orcs as he could with his pan to get to Frodo, the Jedi sliced through whatever they had to to help the Hobbit, Boromir flung his knife at an Orc who was trying to advance on Rarity, Gandalf bashed a few of the remaining Orcs with his staff, and then Merry and Pippin leapt onto the back of the Troll, driving their swords into his back and shoulders. The beast roared in pain, trying to reach behind him and shake the two off. Legolas angled one of his arrows at the open mouth of the Troll, who's head was being held back by the two Hobbits, and then loosed it directly into the mouth of the beast. With a groan, the Troll fell with a great thud. It was over. Balin's tomb was decimated, and the Fellowship felt ragged. As they all approached Frodo's prone form, they were shocked when Aragorn flipped him over and he was fine. The spear had indeed pierced his clothes, but the Hobbit was otherwise not hurt.

“I'm alright,” Frodo said.

“You should be dead. That spear would have skewered a wild boar,” Aragorn said astonished.

“I think there's more to this Hobbit than meets the eye,” Gandalf said with a smile. The shock grew for the party as Frodo opened his jacket to show that he was wearing a glowing shirt.

“Mithril! You are full of surprises, Master Baggins,” Gimli said. Frodo was indeed wearing Bilbo's mithril shirt, and it had saved him from the spear. The Fellowship wasn't free yet. They could hear the Orcs scrambling again, and turned to Gandalf for what to do.

“To the Bridge of Khazad-dûm,” he said, whisking them out of the tomb and back into Dwarrowdelf.

Author's Note

Yay! Another new chapter! Told ya I'd get this in a more timely fashion. You all can probably guess what's coming next. It's gonna be fun.