Bilbo lost no time in getting on the road (there was no time to lose after all) and he tried to make any stops that he had to as short as possible. He passed through the city of men and spent a night in the Prancing Pony before continuing on the road. He couldn't resist stopping in Rivendell (because who could resist seeing the beauty of the elves), but he limited himself to a single night in their libraries (and he promised himself that he would most certainly return to them at some point). There was some time lost as he was forced to find his way around the Misty Mountains because Bilbo's instincts wouldn't let him set foot on top of them. He wondered for a time what could possibly be so dangerous that it would span over the entirety of the mountains, but his thoughts were quickly pulled away by the more pressing danger of his Soulmate.

Due to the loss of time, Bilbo spurred his pony (who he had named Myrtle somewhere along the way) on too fast for her own comfort. He did feel bad about it, of course, but he needed to make up for lost time in any way possible. That's why, when he came upon a large house surrounded by a beautiful garden (pollenated by the biggest bees Bilbo had ever seen) and surrounded by horses and ponies and other such animals, Bilbo thought it was high time to stop for a night. As long as the owner allowed it of course.

Luckily, the owner of the house (who was a great massive bear of a man named Beorn) was actually a very kind person when he was convinced that Bilbo was not, in fact, a dwarf. He invited Bilbo into his home and didn't even laugh when Bilbo was forced to climb into his massive chairs as though he was a baby trying to take a seat at the adult's table. Their conversation was light and Bilbo was fed to the brim with bread and honey and milk. It did well for his empty stomach (he had long since had to cut back on his seven meals and his stomach still almost always felt hungry). It wasn't until Bilbo asked for the quickest way to get where he was going (he was forced to point in the direction since he still wasn't exactly sure was his destination really was) that the conversation suddenly turned dark.

"You will have to go through Greenwood," Beorn said, his eyes darkened and his lips turned down.

"Is it not a good place to go?" Bilbo asked.

"The wood elves are not like their kin," he said. "They do not welcome visitors."

"Then I shall avoid them," Bilbo said with a nod to himself. It seemed easy enough. If he should get too close to them (and if they really did have any sort of bad intentions) he could just turn away and go another direction.

"There has also been rumor of evil things growing in that forest," Beorn said. "The woodsman are starting to call it Mirkwood. I would not go there unless you truly have to."

At this Bilbo frowned. "How long will it take to go around? I don't have much time to spare. I feel that I am already running late."

"If you are running late, then that is the only way to go," Beorn said, "but you go at your own risk."

"Then at my own risk I will go," Bilbo said. The moment his decision was made, his instincts flared. They were not happy about such a dangerous decision, but it was his following them that caused him to have such a delay. He no longer had any time to waste on their interferences. Besides, they weren't too bad that it seemed like he would be killed. As long as he was careful and kept a close eye on them, he was sure that he would make it through with little trouble.

Bilbo only stayed one night at Beorn's house (and even that he was forced into because Beorn said he should not be on his land at night if he wanted to keep his life) before he mounted Myrtle again and set off with only Beorn's warnings to stay on Greenwood's path if he didn't want to get lost. "I will!" Bilbo called back, though he wasn't sure that he would keep that promise. Elvish magic was strong and Bilbo was sure it could set anyone astray, but he had all the confidence in his own instincts. If they should lead him off the path to get where he was going, then off the path he would go.

"Indeed, this is a Mirkwood," Bilbo said to himself as he and his pony took a rest on its edge. Though the sun was high in the sky, the trees cast shadows so deep that Bilbo could not see more than a few feet into the woods. Not only that, but there was a certain sickness (Bilbo couldn't think of anything else to call it but that) that permeated the woods and messed with his senses. "Well," he said to Myrtle, "no point waiting out here. Too much time lost already. We'd best be on our way, I think. The sooner we start, the sooner we get this over with." Myrtle shook its mane, but made no rebuttal (not that it was really required since Bilbo was clearly trying convince himself anyway).

Inside the forest was just as bad as the edge promised it to be. Bilbo's instincts were on high alert and he found himself jumping at even the slightest of sounds. It didn't help that there were several times that it looked as though there were eyes watching him in the dark. "I suppose we should stay on the path after all," Bilbo said aloud if only to cover the suffocating silence (it's not like Myrtle would do it). "Shouldn't mistrust advice so kindly given anyway. Beorn was a kind man. I do hope I will be able to meet with him again. Perhaps my soul mate will take me to see him? What do you think Myrtle? You can come with us if you like. I think if we do go, though, I should very much like to avoid this dreadful forest. I don't like it here one bit. What about you Myrtle?" Myrtles, as always, did not answer and Bilbo crossed his arms in a pout atop her back. "Of course, you don't answer me," he said. "It's not very nice, you know, to ignore someone in such a way. You could at least acknowledge that I'm talking to you. But of course, you are a pony. I wonder if you even know what I'm saying at all. Well, now I feel kind of silly. Of course, you couldn't answer me." Myrtle remained pointed forward, taking each careful step with a regard more than Bilbo was willing to give at the moment. "I do apologize for being cross with you," he said. "I don't know what's come over me. It's just that, I really wish to be out of this forest. I don't know how much time I've got left after all. You understand, right Myrtle? Of course you do. You are a good pony, aren't you?"

Myrtle remained silent and Bilbo was forced to fall back into silence himself, having nothing more to say anyway. Yet, still, he felt antsy. He looked around at the darkness as though there was something that would surely get him if only he let his guard down, but his instincts did not scream at him to get away as they would normally when he was in so much danger that he might even lose his life. In fact, his instincts were screaming for another reason.

And then they suddenly stopped.

Bilbo gasped, pulling Myrtle to a halt with more force than was strictly necessary. "No!" he whispered, clutching at his chest. It could not be. He did not make it this far just to fail. Surely not! His heart pounded against his rib cage and Bilbo doubled over, gasping as though he had run a long way without taking a breather. Surely he was not too late. Yet the danger was gone. It had already come and passed. Bilbo had failed to make it in time and with his instincts as strong as they had been, there was no way that his soulmate survived.

Bilbo doubled over himself on top of Myrtle, reaching around the pony's neck in search of what little comfort he could get in this desolate place. Great big tears gathered in his eyes and fell down his cheeks with little abandon. "I've lost them!" Bilbo cried out. "I've lost them!" Myrtle stamped her feet, prancing back and forth on the path. "What do I do now? I've lost them! I was too late! I wasn't even able to meet them! It's not fair!"

Suddenly Myrtled neighed loudly and bobbed her head until Bilbo was thrown from his seat on her back. He fell with a harsh thud and scraped his hands and knees on the rock path. "Why would you do that?" he asked, looking up at the pony with wide eyes, the tears still streaming down his face slowed somewhat in his shock (Myrtle was such a good pony that this was the first time she had ever acted up after all). Yet Myrtle refused to look at him. She stood tall and looked into the distance. It reminded Bilbo so much of his mother when he was crying for no reason that it startled a laugh out of him. How could his pony seem so smart in situations like these, but absolutely dumb at other times? "It's not fair you know," he said. "You shouldn't make me laugh when I'm so sad. I've just lost my soulmate, you know. It's perfectly acceptable for me to be crying," but he didn't really feel like crying anymore. In fact, he suddenly didn't feel sad at all (which was weird since all the other hobbits who lost their soulmates had always reported a sadness all encompassing that nothing could cure).

"Oh! Oh! Myrtle! They're alive! They survived!" Bilbo jumped on his toes and clapped his hands, drawing Myrtle's attention back to him. "Of course! My soul mate wouldn't be brought down by such a danger! I'm sure they are so strong. I bet they beat it down without warning necessary! Of course!" Myrtle leaned down, nuzzling Bilbo's cheek and allowing Bilbo to hug her neck once more. "I think we should continue on. What do you think Myrtle? Surely we'll meet up with them if we just continue going the way we were!"

AN: I just wanted to point this out, but I envision Bilbo having only just come of age in the last chapter (so he'd be 33) since this occurs before the events of the hobbit, which is why he seems a little younger in this chapter than he was in the books and movies.