Reviews (336)

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At last, Bill makes it clear why he ended up in Bree and not in Rivendell as Gandalf had suggested. He will have a brush with his old misery as soon as the next chapter. That said, he's not the same pony Ferny once knew. Best of all, Bill knows that for a fact. The two equines grew close in their journey and were reluctant to say goodbye, so hopefully that idea came through in their extended farewells. Bill will be glad to see Shadowfax again, a few months from now, and of course the two will travel together again on the way to the Grey Havens. I can easily imagine them exchanging parting thoughts even as Sam and Pippin and Merry are saying goodbye to Frodo and Gandalf. (sigh) Thanks so much for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I do appreciate it.

Author's reply

I'm glad to hear your thoughts on the matter! Oh, he's going to be so happy to greet them again, a few months from now... A few chapters will cover what happens before that time since I took some time imagining what Bill might have experienced during his wait. But it won't be too long... Thanks!

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I wasn't sure at first if the Voices would return, but in the end, it made sense. Oh my, can you imagine the conversation flowing between Shadowfax and his Rider!? (I love imagining Gandalf's first encounter with Bill when the returning Travellers reach Bree.)

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The good innkeeper won't know what to make of it! (It'll be a head-scratcher, and no mistake.) Whew, what a relief to know the plucky pony has almost reached safety. He'll have some time to wait for his Sam's return, but his troubles are mostly over. (I ought to end the story with his arrival at Bree, with an epilogue of Sam's return, but the rough draft based on the original outline runs all the way to the Grey Havens and back again. So there's a possibility the story will go on a bit longer. I keep going back and forth on the matter.)

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You get your wish! (Not a spoiler, as I just posted the next chapter) If I followed Tolkien's clues and map correctly, they are only a few miles from Bree at this point. The snow on the Road this close to Bree is packed down by local activities, making for easier travel, so it won't take them long to get to Bill's destination. Thanks so much for reading and stopping to share your thoughts. I do appreciate it. Author Reply: p.s. I would have loved for Shadowfax to see Bill safely to The Prancing Pony. However, in thinking through Bill's return, it seemed to me that such a thing would have made more of an impression on Butterbur, and he would have mentioned it when telling the Travellers about Bill's return. It made more sense to me to have a Ranger bring him back since the Breelanders appeared to take the Rangers for granted; notably, the absence of the Rangers seemed to get the Bree-landers' attention more than their earlier presence had done.

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I, too, can certainly see Pippin's point of view! "Relaxing" is not the first word that comes to mind when swinging a sword or engaging in any vigorous physical activity, I should think. I learned over my years of jogging/running for exercise that if I didn't run relaxed, I tired much more quickly. Your assessment of the Rangers sounds quite accurate to me! Thanks for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate it.

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It was such a relief to come to this chapter! (And here we have the explanation of why Bill ended up in Bree and did not go to "Elrond's house" as Gandalf seemed to foresee. It was an itch I needed to scratch.) (Actually, Boromir was the schoolmaster for this particular lesson, but it could as easily have been Aragorn. Does it sound too familiar in tone? It's not their first training session but one in a series. I had the thought that Boromir saw the need to begin training the hobbits soon after Pippin and Merry were added to the Company, and used the same training techniques he'd honed with raw recruits during his time in Gondor. I admit to being heavily influenced by the memory of film-Merry and Pippin tackling him in the middle of a practice session which conveyed a warm feeling that had grown up between the Man of Gondor and the Hobbits in the Company.) Thanks so much for reading and taking the time to share your thoughts. Your thoughtfulness is much appreciated.

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Ah, yes, Bill has picked up a variety of games from his hobbits! And Shadowfax has picked up some of those games from Bill... I think the great horse would be likely to feel right at home in the Shire, much like his Rider. Thanks!

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His names are as pony-ish as I can imagine, LOL. Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts! I do appreciate it.

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LOL. They make a dynamic duo for sure! Thanks!

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Yes, Tolkien described the Grey Company as bringing Aragorn's horse with them when they rode to Rohan to meet him. So I did some searching and found his horse's name was Rohyren, and was apparently a gift to him from Arwen. (I don't know if that's stated anywhere or merely implied by the meaning of the horse's name.) Thanks!

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It was very satisfying to give them this respite and safe place to rest. And poor Roheryn has been separated from Aragorn even longer than Bill has been separated from Sam! It's no wonder that he demands news of his Rider as soon as he realizes who Bill is! (Thanks. Happy New Year to you and yours.)

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I have the feeling that Shadowfax is in charge where ever he finds himself. Even Gandalf simply tells the horse where he needs to go and what needs to be done, and Shadowfax takes care of the rest – at least the transportation-and-watching-out-for-his-Rider aspect of the business. Thanks! Happy New Year to you and yours!

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It is not going to be long at all! Just two or three chapters after this one, depending on how a certain conversation fits into the flow. I'm also very glad that Bill's story is looking up. Whew. It has been a long and challenging journey for the pony, but he's almost there. (At least, he's almost to Bree. And then there's something to be said about his time in Bree, waiting for Sam, and then SAM! And then the scouring of the Shire, and life in the recovering Shire, and the journey to the Grey Havens... The draft goes all the way to the point where Sam tells Rose, "Well, I'm back." But perhaps the story ought to end with his reunion with Sam in Bree – that would certainly be a high point.) Happy New Year to you and yours! And if you're in touch with Dreamflower, please convey my warmest New Year wishes to her, too. Thanks!

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I don't really know what a "warm bran mash" would consist of – I never found an occasion to feed one to my horse IRL – but I still remember as a very small child when my mother read Black Beauty to me, "bran mashes" were mentioned quite often as some sort of treat or maybe a restorative meal. (Black Beauty was my favorite childhood read-aloud; I have no idea how many times my patient mother read all the way through that book with me before I learned to read it for myself. Enough times that I had the entire first part of the first chapter memorized by the time reading aloud became a thing of the past.) Thanks!

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Luckily, Shadowfax is wise as well as wild (in terms of allowing mere Men to handle him), and the Rangers' manners probably helped quite a bit, I should think. Bill, on the other hand, found it all quite astonishing, I believe. Thanks! I am going to try to post the next chapter the 24th or 25th as a Christmas offering if I can find a few quiet moments to finish typing it in from the written draft. In any event, I offer my best holiday wishes to you and yours.

Author's reply

Oh good. I hope it's believable! (After reading about the first of the Mearas to be tamed, I thought the Rangers would get the best result by treating Shadowfax with the proverbial kid gloves.) I am hoping to post the next chapter on Christmas (Eve or Day). Will have to see if I will have a quiet moment or thirty to type the rest of it in from the written draft. In any event, may you and yours have a blessed holiday.

Author's reply

Maybe Frodo would laugh, too, fondly, remembering Sam's fierce defense when the odds were seemingly against them, surrounded by tall, stern Men in that hiding place. Having been blindfolded to get there, they'd have little idea of how they might make their escape, even if the sentries weren't alert. Which I figure they were. Alert, I mean. (I still crack up at the line, "Are you a bodyguard?" "No, a gardener." I can imagine Faramir telling the story in after years...) Since Bill can't count past four, I can only say it was "many" by his reckoning. Half a dozen, maybe? Thanks!

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I love the word-picture you drew here: I can just see you and your household snuggling together in this stormy weather we've been having. And another storm today! I'm going to make some hot cocoa and settle on the couch soon with a good book. That will make the cats happy. While I miss Panda greatly (she used to curl up on the couch right next to me, as close as she could get), I'm glad that the cats seem to be taking their cuddling duties quite seriously. I would so love to read more about Halbarad. I was glad to give him a cameo (or a bit more? since he's in several chapters?) once I figured out that Tolkien's timeline would allow him to appear in this part of Bill's story. Can you recommend any still-accessible fanfic that he features in? (Besides Boz4pm's stories, I mean. I need to go back and revisit Penny.) I had a few Ranger-centric stories bookmarked a decade or so ago for future reading, but they're not there anymore. I missed so much good stuff in going back to work, but we do what we have to do. Anyhow, I'm still plugging away at finishing the WIPs. As I mentioned elsewhere, Thain is written all the way to the end now. I just put it on hold because the battle against the Witch-king is so stressful to contemplate, I don't want to edit the draft chapters at the moment. Real life is stressful enough. Thanks! I hope this reply finds you well. I went back and re-read the last few chapters of your story about the sculptor in Minas Tirith, which is high on my want-to-read list. I don't remember reading them before – for surely I would have noticed (and grinned at) the mention of Budgie Smallfoot and Ferdibrand Took, among others! Perhaps I didn't read the story all the way through as I thought I had, for I don't see any reviews signed by me after the first few chapters. Ah, well, it will be a positive pleasure to start digesting that story chapter by chapter going forward. Did you ever write a follow-up to The King's Commission, such as Merry and Pippin visiting the statue when they retired to the Southlands? I wonder what their thoughts and reactions might be, seen through the perspective of time and life experience and the ripeness of years... Sam would have sailed by that time, if I'm remembering the Tale of Years right. Would Ruvemir have been alive when the Thain and Master gave up their offices to their sons and rode southwards? (Though I read "Time Passing" just now, I wasn't quite sure of the timing of his departure. I must say, I love that he named his son after Samwise. And do any of your stories tell about his time in the Shire?) Might he have been tempted to sculpt the hobbits, considering the character that the passing years etch into one's face? Might he even sculpt Frodo and Sam as they might look from his imagination and insight, or am I reaching too far? (I remember Faramir describing his seeing Frodo as a gaffer in his "dream"/NDE in one of my stories.) If that latter paragraph sounds muddled, it's because it's way past lunch time and I'm badly in need of protein. I've been having way too much fun reading fanfic today. Tomorrow, I plan to go back to The King's Commission and start reading where I left off (chapter 5 or so) and leaving reviews as I go... (p.s. Thanks!) Author Reply: p.p.s. And Beregond! I forgot to mention I rejoiced at seeing Beregond appear in the chapters of your story that I read today! How I adore that soldier of Gondor and Captain of Ithilien.

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I love these characters, especially having been able to envision Bill's growth and Shadowfax's "reality check" (which I suppose is also a kind of growth). We're approaching their parting, which I'm not looking forward to, except that they will meet again later in the story, and I can look forward to that moment during all the intervening chapters. Thanks! (I hope all this wind and rain is neither blowing nor washing you and yours away!)

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I find it interesting to see Rangers through a pony's eyes, considering what Tolkien told us about their reputation among the Bree-folk. Alas, poor Shadowfax. He lost his head, as you know, and he is still coming to terms with a sense of fallibility that he had never encountered before. Why, (with Gandalf's help, of course), he was able to stand firm against the Fear that the Nazgûl projected! He had developed quite a lot of confidence before his link with Gandalf was so abruptly and devastatingly severed. I think he'll come out of this with a more balanced view and understanding of his own strengths and weaknesses. I am glad to hear your feedback! I worry sometimes about clarity of communication and flow and realism and characters being in character. It's always good to hear when something works. I grew up in a Midwestern state with long, cold winters and plentiful snow. Actually, I think Anchorage is warmer in terms of median (or do I mean average?) temperatures than my old stomping grounds! One memory that stays with me is walking our family dog one night in a December snowstorm... with enormous flakes coming out of the sky, landing on us and floating and drifting around us, looking magical in the light of a streetlamp, like something out of a Hallmark movie. We also had mosquitos, but nothing compared to those found in Alaska, or so I've been told. I don't miss the mosquitos, but I do miss the lightning bugs.

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LOL! Halbarad seems to understand how to get on Shadowfax's sweet side, for certain. And though Bill is a bit skeptical, I've written Halbarad as having a soft spot in his heart for horses and ponies. I find myself wondering if he knew Bill's dam or grand-dam, perhaps? Thanks!

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One of my favourite (but tragic) characters when I first read the book was Halbarad. I was so sad when he fell in battle. I'm glad to be able to honour him in this small way. Perhaps Gandalf shared the Ranger's campfire for a brief rest (and with the aim of gathering information from the Watchers) on his way to Weathertop, and Halbarad learned something from the wizard about the best way to approach one of the Mearas to make a good impression. I like imagining such a thing, anyhow. Thanks!

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I'm sure that Rangers are smarter than that. Or maybe the word I want is "wiser"? Still, they will play a major role in the next few chapters. Thanks!

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Those pesky wolves! (However, I have been invited to meet someone's wolf IRL, and I am quite looking forward to making their acquaintance.) Thanks for reading and pausing to leave a comment. I definitely appreciate it.