Stories of Arda Home Page
About Us News Resources Login Become a member Help Search

The Way Home  by Lindelea 3 Review(s)
KathyGReviewed Chapter: 35 on 11/3/2025
So long as the other way leads them to Bree (but not back to his old misery!), and Shadowfax is able to get Bill safely to Butterbur before he's needed by Gandalf, that's the important thing.

Author Reply: I am in complete agreement with you! Especially the part about not back to his old misery!

Thanks so much for your encouragement.

Lady ForlongReviewed Chapter: 35 on 11/2/2025
Who was it that said "If you don't know where you're going you'll probably end up someplace else"? Might as well have been Bill or maybe one of "his" hobbits.

Author Reply: LOL! Sort of like, "If you aim at nothing, you'll hit it every time", I suppose!

Thanks for reading and pausing to share your thoughts.

shireboundReviewed Chapter: 35 on 11/2/2025
These conversations are so enjoyable to read. Bill and Shadowfax are true, equal companions now, contributing to the journey their own instincts, memories, and experiences.

Author Reply: Bill has certainly grown! He's learned hard lessons in his life, associated for a time with Elves (not to mention Wizards), and brushed elbows with other noteworthy companions. I like to think all that would make him wiser than the average pony in the end.

(I loved it when I read through "The Grey Havens" again while writing the draft of this story, and saw that he'd graduated from pack-pony to riding-pony. He strikes me as something like the multi-purpose Morgan horse; I remember reading that such horses were recognized as having the power to pull a plow or cultivator on weekdays and a wagon filled with produce on market days, as well as the capability to drive in style to church on Sunday in front of a carriage filled with the farmer's family, and could also serve as a riding horse with the stamina for distance travel and smooth, comfortable gaits to accommodate a rider.)

What fun! I grew up reading every "horse story" I could get my hands on, and so it's been especially satisfying to combine my passion for horses with my love of LOTR in imagining Bill's journeys.

Return to Chapter List