The dwarves all got on their own ponies while Gandalf rode a real horse. Kili led (Y/n) to her pony.
"This is yours. Her name's Sky" he said. She looked at the beautiful white pony and smiled. (A/n I named the pony after my dog. She's a collie and looks like a horse sometimes haha)
"She's beautiful" (Y/n) said.
"Yeah... she is," Kili siad, looking at (Y/n). She glanced over at him and he looked down.
"Do you-do you need help?" he asked.
"No, I'll be fine, thank you" she said as she got on the pony. Kili nodded and walked away to his own pony.
As they got moving, the dwarves all began taking bets on whether Bilbo would show up or not.
"I know he'll show up! He'll come running I just know it" (Y/n) said to a majority of the dwarves. Some agreed, most disagreed.
"Didn't I say? Waste of time"
"That's true enough!"
"Ridiculous"
"'Use a hobbit'? Who's idea was it anyway?"
"Excuse me, I'm a hobbit!"
"Sorry, lass"
"WAIT! WAIT!!"
Bilbo's yelling made everyone stop their ponies and look behind them. There, running through the grass, was Bilbo Baggins with a contract in his hand. (Y/n) smiled brightly as Bilbo ran up to the front of the line of ponies.
"I signed it!" he said, brandishing the contract above his head. He went up to Balin and handed it to him. Balin looked at Bilbo before checking the contract.
"Everything appears to be in order. Welcome, Master Baggins, to the company of Thorin Oakenshield" Balin announced. He winked at Bilbo as the other lighty laughed. Bilbo looked at (Y/n) and smiled a little, to which she laughed and smiled back, giddy.
"Give him a pony," Thorin told them. Bilbo looked startled.
"No, no. No, that won't be necessary. Thank you. I'm sure I can keep up on foot. I-I've done my fair share of walking holidays, you know? Even got as far as Frogmorton once-"
"Bilbo, just get on a damn pony" (Y/n) said. Fili and Kili came up on either side of Bilbo and lifted him up onto a brown pony. (Y/n) laughed at his face.
Bilbo looked at the pony with a troubled face, holding the reins up to his chin. He got startled when the pony whined and (Y/n) smirked. Kili came up next to her.
"Well it appears you were right" he said.
"Of course I was. I knew he couldn't give up an adventure. Also, I know he also just wants to protect me" she replied.
"I could protect you" Kili voiced.
"I'm sure you could" (Y/n) replied, moving her pony up next to Bilbo. What she didn't see was Fili smirking at Kili, and Kili turning bright red.
"Come on, Nori! Pay up!" Oin shouted. He was thrown a bag full of coins, and so were other members of the group. (Y/n) saw her share get thrown her way and caught it, placing it in her satchel. Bilbo looked at her, confused.
"What's that about?" he asked.
"They took wages on whether or not you'd turn up" (Y/n) said, smiling as she did.
"Most of them bet that you wouldn't" Gandalf intervened, riding his horse next to Bilbo on the other side.
"I saw what (Y/n) thought, but, what did you think?" Bilbo asked Gandalf.
"Well..." Gandalf started, then caught a bag of coins "My dear fellow, I never doubted you for a second"
Bilbo nodded, then began to sneeze.
"It's horse hair. Having a reaction" he said as he went through his pockets. (Y/n) knew he was looking for his pocket handkerchief. Bilbo began to panic when he couldn't find it and yelled to the rest of the company.
"No, wait, wait, stop! STOP! We have to turn around!"
"What on earth is the matter?" Gandalf asked as the group stopped their ponies.
"I forgot my handkerchief!" Bilbo stressed. (Y/n) sighed and put her hand on her forehead, resting her elbow on the saddle.
"Here. Use this!" Bofur ripped a piece of dirty fabric from his clothes and threw it back to Bilbo, who, when he caught it, looked at it in disgust. The dwarves laughed and Thorin told them to move on.
"You'll have to manage without pocket handkerchiefs, and a good many other things, Bilbo Baggins, before our journey's end" Gandalf spoke "You were born to the rolling hills and little rivers of The Shire. But home is now behind you. The world is ahead"
After a long day's trek, the company stopped at night and set up a fire. Some got some sleep, others stayed up to watch. (Y/n) sat next to Fili and Kili, her eyes drooping. Bilbo was attempting to sleep, but Bombur's loud snores kept him awake until he got up and stretched. (Y/n) shook herself awake and watched as Bilbo grabbed an apple from his pocket and went over to his pony. She smiled as she saw him feed the pony an apple, and talk to her as if she were another hobbit. That smile dropped when they heard a screeching noise in the distance. Those who were awake looked up.
"What was that?" (Y/n) asked.
"Orcs" Kili stated, looking out at the night. (Y/n)'s eyes widened and she looked out from where they were sleeping to the open lands.
"Orcs?!" Bilbo repeated, terrified.
Thorin was jolted awake at the noise.
"Throatcutters. There'll be dozens of them out there. The Lone-Lands are crawling with them" Fili said.
"They strike in the wee small hours when everyone's asleep. Quick and quiet, no screams. Just lots of blood" Kili said, quietly, as if he was telling a ghost story.
Bilbo looked out, horror struck, at the world. (Y/n) turned back to find Fili and Kili both laughing. She frowned at them and was about to speak, but Thorin beat her to it.
"You think that's funny? You think a night raid by orcs is a joke?"
"We didn't mean anything by it," Kili tried. Thorin's gaze was cold as steel.
"No you didn't" he said, walking toward the edge of the cliff, "You know nothing of the world"
Balin walked up next to Fili and Kili, looking at them both.
"Don't mind him, laddie" he said, "Thorin has more cause than most to hate orcs"
They looked to Thorin, who stood alone on the cliff. Balin spoke again.
"After the dragon took the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the ancient dwarf kingdom of Moria. But our enemy had got there first. Moria had been taken by legions of orcs, led by the most vile of all their race: Azog the Defiler. The giant Gundabad orc had sworn to wipe out the line of Durin. He began... by beheading the king. Thrain, Thorin's father, was driven mad by grief. He went missing. Taken prisoner or killed, we did not know. We were leaderless. Defeat and death were upon us. That is when I saw him. A young dwarf prince facing down the Pale Orc. He stood alone against this terrible foe. His armor rent, wielding nothing but an oaken branch as a shield. Azog the Defiler learned that day that the line of Durin would not be so easily broken. Our forces rallied, and drove the orcs back. Our enemy had been defeated. But there was no feast... nor song that night, for our dead were beyond the count of grief. We few had survived. And I thought to myself then... there is one I could follow. There is one... I could call king"
Thorin turned around, and saw the dwarves standing, looking at him with newfound respect. He began walking back to the group.
"And the Pale Orc?" (Y/n) asked.
"What happened to him?" Bilbo finished.
"He slunk back into the hole whence he came. That filth died of his wounds long ago" Thorin spat.
(Y/n) curled up by the fire, ready to fall asleep. Her eyes couldn't stay open any longer, so she lied back and closed them, quickly falling asleep. Kili watched her, and when he was sure she was asleep, moved a piece of her (h/c) hair out of her face. He couldn't shake this feeling he got when he looked at her. Fili noticed his brother's actions and smiled slightly. Kili looked back at him.
"What?" he asked.
Fili just quietly laughed at him, and said "Never seen you act that way"
"What way?" Kili shot back.
Fili just gestured to (Y/n)'s sleeping form, and though it was hard to see in the red firelight, Kili blushed slightly, then spoke up.
"I-I don't know what you are insinuating" he stammered.
"Sure," Fili said quietly.