Chapter 26

*Kili*

He had it all planed out. All he had to do was to wait until Fili went to sleep and then find what he would need to make his planed succeed. Kili smiled just thinking about it. His brother was going to be so mad and it was going to be incredibly funny. Of course, it might be useful to make sure there was a tree he could climb if Fili got a little too enraged.

Fili was watching him, though, and Kili mentally cursed for not knowing Fili would be suspicious of him. It was only natural that he would be, after all, Kili did not give up that easily and he did not especially when practical jokes were concerned. He had not earned his nickname by just letting things go and not thinking up ways to make the offending person (or thing) pay for whatever crime they had committed against himself or his brother.

To make it seem like he was not in the mood for a prank, Kili began to work on the arrow he had been carving and he looked disinterested in anything else but his whittling. His evil plan was working, for Fili soon began to relax and sharpen a random dagger. Kili smiled to himself and continued to carve.

It felt like years to the young archer while he was waiting for his elder brother to go to sleep and he was starting to get very bored. But finally Fili dozed off and Kili grinned with a well-known spark in his dark eyes. This is going to be so great! Kili thought as he quietly snuck away and hoped that Fili would not awake before he returned with his needed ingredient to disaster.

Kili still walked lightly after he had left the camp behind so he would be able to hear the signs of what he wanted. And soon, he did hear them. At first, all he could hear was a faint sort or humming sound and then it grew into a loud buzz. Kili grinned and followed the sound until he was lead to an old Elm tree with a large hole in the trunk. In the hole was his prize, a honeybees' nest.

He paused and considered his course of action that would give him a large amount of the hive and the fewest amount of stings possible. After a few minutes thought, Kili decided the best way to make sure the bees would not swarm him, was to smoke them. He remembered how they had been out in the woods back in the Blue Mountains with Bainard and he had smoked bees out of the hive; and he also remembered how they had wrestled for the sweet honeycomb. The memory made him smile for a little before he set to work on building a fire.

When his fire was burning strong enough, Kili took a long, straight tree branch and wrapped green grass and leaves around it. Then he let it catch of fire, but it did not just flame of course, but smoked rather well. Kili knew that he still was going to get stung, but it would be worth it, so he charged at the hive. At first, the bees were furious at the disturbance and began to swarm, but the cool night air had already slowed them down and now the smoke was making them even drowsier.

The young Dwarf prince and two stings on his hands and one on the back of his neck where one and crawled into his hair and stung him with which Kili responded with Khudzul curses. But I do have what I came for. Kili thought as he tried to get his hand unstuck from the section of the hive he was holding.

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"What on earth did you do!?" It was not really a question Kili guess as he quickly dodged his brother and got on the opposite side of Mabel.

"I got my revenge, that's what I did." he answered calmly. Fili glared at him in response and Kili did something which did not help matters in the least. He laughed. Kili could not help it, really. It was just the fact that the blond Dwarf looked so amusing with honey all over him. But then Mabel stamped her foot and her hoof landed right on top of Kili's boot.

Kili probably made a face that gave away his foot was hurting something awful, for Fili raised an eyebrow and asked, "Did that hurt, Kee?"

"No, Fili, it didn't at all," Kili said with sarcasm, "It's not like she's wearing iron shoes and weighs over three hundred pounds."

"Sorry. I just had to ask because she hasn't stepped on me yet."

"You don't want her to either." Kili said while standing on one foot. Fili grinned at him and said, "I don't have to get even with you now, you know."

Kili gave him an odd look. "What do you mean?" he asked his brother.

"I mean that I would have had to get even with you with another prank, but Mabel took care of it for me. She stepped on your foot and she's my pony so that means she gave me the revenge and I don't have to do anything. Make sense?" Fili asked and Kili nodded.

"But there's only one problem with that." he said.

"And what is that?"

"Now Coal will have to get his revenge on Mabel and then she'll get back at him. We will be stuck in between a pony prank war."

Fili rolled his eyes and put a hand to his eyes, obviously tired, but then he stopped to glare at Kili who cocked his head to one side, asking a silent question. His question was answered when Fili motioned to the part of beehive lying by Kili's bedroll and then to his face.

"Oh. Sorry Fili, I won't do anything of the like to you again. At least, not until we pass the Misty Mountains, that is." Kili said, but his brother was not satisfied with that.

"You better not try anything of the sort for as long as you live!"

"Okay, okay, I won't. I swear."

"On what do you swear?"

"You have to be that difficult, don't you?" Kili asked with a sigh to which Fili answered, "Of course I do. It's my job. Now, answer the question."

"It is not! Your job is to protect me!" Kili exclaimed in mock surprise. Fili groaned. "Oh come off it, Kili! Never mind that and please say what it is you swear on so that I can go back to sleep. I can't trust you unless you do."

"Fine, be that way. I swear on…on, um…on our bond as brothers. There, now do you believe me?"

"I do. Come on then. And Kili?"

"Yeah, Fee?"

"If I fall off Mabel in the morning, you are going get all the blame." Fili said. Kili grinned and shook his head, setting down comfortably on his blankets as he was still not tired and his brother looked like he could fall asleep standing where he was. About three hours later, though against all Kili's trying to stay awake, both brothers were deeply asleep.

Eight hours later, about four or five in the morning, a young doe stood in the meadow with her ears pricked towards the strange figures of three ponies and two Dwarves. But the most interesting thing she could see about the Dwarves was that the dark-haired one was lying with his arm flopped over the golden-haired one's chest and every now and then her sharp hearing could pick up the sounds of him muttering something about honey and beehives in his sleep.

A/N Ok, so I thought I would have more than one chapter done during spring-break. Sorry about the delay guys, but I took too long! So sad…

Lady Hobbit :D! It is so nice to read your reviews once again! Thank you for the encouragement and the funny comment. It made the boys' day. And also, leggomygreggo2! Thank you soooooo much for the prank idea! As always, Mira Meliandra, leggomygreggo2, GregsMadHatter, Lady Hobbit :D, ACreativeHobbit, jaymzNshed, Alicia457, Syblime, and Akeea have my eternal thanks for their reviews and support! There is a box down there that you should type a review in and I'll be watching for you.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE! I hope you all have a great time! :D