Often, when people get invested in the lives of fictional characters, they wonder what happened to those characters after the main story events end. Following the big adventure is certainly interesting, but many are often curious about what came next, and whether or not these characters got their happily ever after. Most of the time, the answers to these questions aren't available because the creator has ended the story at a specific point and doesn't expand beyond it. However, Lord of the Rings fans are in luck in this regard, because Tolkien's worldbuilding went beyond the main story and often tells the tales of what happened to his beloved characters after the main conflict is over.

Two of these beloved characters are Merry and Pippin, the two Hobbits who join the Fellowship as troublemakers and turn out to be valiant and heroic in their own ways. But what happened to them after the War for the Ring was over and Sauron was no longer a threat? Did they go back to typical Hobbit lives of relative peace and quiet? Or did they continue their heroics throughout Middle-earth? Luckily, Tolkien expanded upon their stories just enough that there are actual answers to these questions.

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After the Ring was destroyed, the Hobbits traveled back to the Shire and found it in a much worse place than they left it, having been taken over by ruffians and someone named "Sharkey" who turns out to be Saruman in disguise. This is the famous "Scouring of the Shire" chapter of Lord of the Rings that was omitted from the films, but in the novel, it depicts a sequence where the Hobbits have to regain control of their home after it has been sort of destroyed by Saruman and Grima Wormtongue. Merry and Pippin lead the other Hobbits to victory in Battle of Bywater against the ruffians, and Saruman and Wormtongue are defeated shortly after. They then set about running out the last of the ruffians, which they managed to do without bloodshed.

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After this, life in the Shire went back to normal, and they even experienced a period of great growth and bounty. Merry and Pippin helped Frodo clean up Bag End after Lotho Sackville-Baggins had occupied it during the Shire's despoiling, and the Hobbits then spent some time resting after their adventure. Merry and Pippin were well-known for hosting great parties with songs and stories all throughout the Shire. Then, of course, when Frodo chose to go to the Undying Lands with the Elves, Merry, Pippin, and Sam accompanied him to the Grey Havens to say their goodbyes to him and Bilbo.

It turns out that Merry and Pippin were actually heirs to the Master of Buckland and the Thrainship of the Shire respectively (which were essentially leadership positions within the Shire), and they eventually took up these offices after many years of living their wealthy, bachelor-esque lives. Both Hobbits built up quite impressive library collections, with Merry writing three books of his own and traveling to Rivendell on occasion to obtain new material. Pippin married Diamond of Long Cleeve, and they eventually had a son whom they named Faramir I (and he in turn ended up marrying Goldilocks, one of Sam's daughters). Merry married Estella Bolger, and they also had a son, though his name was never recorded anywhere.

Aragorn, the current High King of Gondor, made Merry and Pippin (along with Sam, who was the mayor at this time) Counsellors of the North-kingdom of Arnor. Éomer, who was now the king in Rohan and had grown quite old, asked to see Merry again, and so both Merry and Pippin decided to give up their offices in the Shire and travel to Edoras to stay with Éomer until he died. After this, they traveled to Minas Tirith, where they lived out the rest of their days in great honor. Merry and Pippin died at the ages of 109 and 101 respectively, and were laid to rest in Rath Dínen with other great heroes of Gondor, with tombs that were right next to Aragorn's.

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Merry and Pippin are proof that the story doesn't always end with the conclusion of the main conflict. Tolkien wrote so much supplementary material on the history of Middle-earth that almost every important character has a story that extends beyond the War for the Ring (even if the details are vague). Merry and Pippin got to live out full lives and were respected and important Hobbits within their community, and they continued to be heroic and noble even when the fate of the world wasn't at stake. These two Hobbits who seemed like joke characters at first became so revered and well-respected that they were laid to rest beside the King of Gondor who considered them his friends, which is a huge honor. It's always interesting to find out where Tolkien has his characters end up, and seeing Merry and Pippin get to lead successful lives is certainly a satisfying conclusion to their story.

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