Brotherly Bond

by Crash Jet

Chapter 1

Brotherly Bond

Chapter 1

“… Hey Pip?”

“Yeah Patch…? What is it?” Pipsqueak said as he looked up at the older pony before him. The stallion was a full-grown pony; and like the younger colt, his pinto coat was a pure white, splotched with brown spots, slightly darker than Pipsqueak’s shade of spots. While the speck around his eye matched that of the colt’s, it was instead surrounding his right eye.

“I’ve been thinking…” The stallion, Patch, said as he scratched his dark-brown mane gently with a hoof. “Well… I think… I wanna join the Royal Guard…”

This news stunned Pipsqueak as his started to stammer. “J-Join the Royal Guard…? B-But… if you join them… y-you’ll have to leave…”

Patch let out a small smile. “I talked with the recruiter… he said that I would be able to stay locally… I wouldn’t be moving too far from you, baby bro.” He looked over, seeing that his younger brother had his head down, still frowning. “Hey… c’mon kiddo…” He rubbed a hoof atop the colt’s head gently, messing up his mane. “You know me… I’ll come by and see you every chance I get.”

Pipsqueak laughed slightly as he stepped away from Patch’s hoof. “You promise?”

Patch’s grin got wider. “You know it, Pip! Can’t leave my baby brother alone for too long!” He let out a chuckle as Pipsqueak ran to him, wrapping his hooves around his body in a brotherly hug. “… You know… I haven’t told mum and dad about this yet… I wanted you to be the first to know. You think I’d be a good soldier?”

“I think… you’ll be the best soldier!” Pipsqueak exclaimed, smiling wide.

“Thanks a lot, Pip…” Patch said as he brought the colt closer with his own hug. “That means a lot to me… that you have faith in me… I won’t let ya down!”

“Pipsqueak? Pipsqueak…!”

“Huh?” Pipsqueak said as he snapped out of his daydream. He found himself in Miss Cheerilee’s classroom, the magenta coated teacher looking at him with a concerned look on her face. Most of the students were staring at him as well, something that he didn’t welcome at all.

“Pipsqueak… I wanted you to read out loud the next page of the book.” She said. “We’ve been waiting.”

“Oh… uh…” Pipsqueak looked down at his opened book and started to read out loud the page it was turned to.

“Pipsqueak…” Unfortunately for him, it was the wrong page. “Archer already read that page for us…”

“Oh! S-Sorry…” He said as he looked away, embarrassed. The several students laughing didn’t help matters either, but they immediately stopped when Miss Cheerilee commanded them to. He looked up as the school bell started to ring, silently cursing it for not going off just a few seconds early.

“Well, children… it looks like class is dismissed.” Cheerilee smiled as she walked back to the chalkboard. “I want you all to have a fun and safe weekend, but don’t forget to finish the math homework I assigned you all. I’ll see all your happy faces on Monday!”

There was a collective cheer from the students as most of them raced for the door. Pipsqueak, however, simply dragged himself out of his seat and trudged along, head down. “Pipsqueak, wait…” He heard Cheerilee call for him. “I’d like to speak with you for a moment before you go…”

“Oh…” One filly, Diamond Tiara, sneered as she walked past the colt. “Pipsqueak is gonna get it…” She laughed meanly as she walked out the door.

“Like, totally!” Her best friend, Silver Spoon, joined the laugh while she followed the pink pony.

Pipsqueak turned and looked up at the teacher with fear of what she would say to him. “M-Miss Cheerilee… I’m really sorry for not paying attention in class today…”

“You don’t have to apologize, Pipsqueak…” Cheerilee frowned as she shook her head. “Your parents told me about what happened last year… and I’m proud that you still came into school today.”

“…” Pipsqueak couldn’t help but lower his head again. One year ago to this day… it was the worst day of his life… and here was his own teacher bringing it up.

“I understand that you’re still really upset… and you may not want to talk about it… but if you ever do need somepony to talk to… I’m here for you, my little pony.”

“Thank you, Miss Cheerilee…” He turned away and started to walk off. She was right… he didn’t want to talk about it… he hatedtalking about it. All it did was remind him of that day. It reminded him of the pain of knowing that no matter how hard he wished and hoped, nothing could change that day.

And yet, everypony from his mom and dad, to his relatives, and just now his teacher, wanted to discuss it. It was as if nopony wanted him to forget it. Why couldn’t they leave it alone? Why were they so interested in making his heart hurt?
He and his family moved from Trottingham to Ponyville just last summer, and he was enrolled in the elementary school when autumn rolled around. He would spend most of every day just paying attention to the lessons and taking notes. He hardly ever answered any questions unless called on. He didn’t like being put on the spot, especially when facing the classmates he knew so little of. His hope was just to skate by school without being noticed by anypony other than the teacher.

That was about to change.

“Look at me! I’m Scootaloo! Cluck-Cluck-Cluck-CLUCK!” Pipsqueak’s thoughts were interrupted by the commotion he saw as he made it outside. Silver Spoon was up on her rear hooves, flapping her fore hooves as Diamond Tiara watched and laughed. He noticed the three fillies standing in front of them, and saw that the white unicorn and yellow earth pony were trying hard to hold back the orange pegasus, who seemed intent on knocking out her tormentors. He recognized them from his classroom… Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo.

“Let… me…go!” Scootaloo scowled as she tried to free herself from her friends’ hold. “I’m gonna… knock some sense into these… stuck-up brats!”

“You can’t Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle said, struggling to keep a tight hold on the pegasus’ legs. “If Miss Cheerilee catches you fighting again...!”

“Mm’ll ruin our mmeekend mmf crusadin’! Apple Bloom managed to say despite the fact she was holding back Scootaloo by the tail using her teeth.

Pipsqueak watched the scene for a bit longer before he decided to attempt to walk off unseen. He didn’t want to catch the bad end of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon’s teasing, so he walked past them, head down and careful not to draw attention to himself.

“Hey Silver… the runt is back from getting yelled at by Miss Cheerilee.” Diamond Tiara said as she looked at him with a malicious grin.

“Drat…” Pipsqueak muttered to himself, knowing what to expect from the two bullies.

Silver Spoon walked over to him. “That was fast… did Miss Cheerilee see how dumb you are and send you back to kindergarten?” She said, poking at him with a hoof.

He knew that she was just setting Diamond Tiara up for the next taunt. He was one of the brightest students in the class, but also the smallest.

“It makes sense.” Diamond Tiara added. “He’s ALMOST as big as a kindergartner anyway. Isn’t that right, runt?”

“Well, shorty? What have you got to say for yourself?” Silver Spoon said, pushing Pipsqueak to the ground.

“Leave him alone!” Apple Bloom shouted. “He didn’t do nuthin’ to you guys!”

Pipsqueak closed his eyes and covered his head with his hooves, expecting the two to start beating him up. It was an all too familiar scene to him. Soon, his mind found himself back in Trottingham School, and the two spoiled fillies,

Were now a pair of larger bullies, taking delight in punishing Pipsqueak just for being around them at the wrong time.

“Look at this little runt!” A brown colt cackled as he pointed at the fallen Pipsqueak. The colt was about a head taller than Pipsqueak, and he wasn’t shy about pointing out the pony’s small stature. Standing next to him was a dark grey colt, laughing as he pressed a hoof firmly against Pipsqueak’s head.

“He’s like a little baby pony!” The grey bully said as he hit the smaller colt in the head with the same hoof. “You gonna cry, baby pony?! Huh?!”

Pipsqueak covered his head and squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to hold back the tears building. He knew that the moment he started crying, the real torment would begin. He thought that by holding back this time, the bullies would get bored and leave. It seemed that this time they had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

“C’mon!” The brown colt kicked Pipsqueak in the stomach, getting a pained groan from his victim. “Cry! Show us how much of a baby you are!”

“Hey!!” An older voice shouted from the distance. They looked over and saw Patch, in his Royal Guard armor sans the helmet. The stallion had an angry look on his face. “Leave him alone!” He started to rush over.

“Ahh!” The brown colt shouted as he bolted away. “Let’s get outta here!”

“You’re lucky your brother is here to babysit you, Pipsqueak!” The grey colt scorned as he ran off. “We’ll seeya tomorrow, runt!”

Patch ran next to Pipsqueak, still looking at the bullies with a growl. “Tease him again and you’ll be sorry, punks!” He looked at Pipsqueak, softening his tone and dropping his scowl. “Pip… are you okay…?”

With the bullies finally gone, Pipsqueak sniffed and let his built up tears free. “U-Uh huh…” He said, wiping his eyes.

Patch knelled down and hugged Pipsqueak closely. “Listen Pip… you can’t let those guys pick on you like this… there are times when you need to stand up for yourself…”

“B-But…!” Pipsqueak started to sob. “They’re bigger than me! A-And their punches really hurt! And I’m…!”

“You’re small… I know that, Pip.” Patch shook his head. “They pick on you because of that… they would never do what they did to you to a pony bigger than they are or even one their own size… it’s because they’re cowards…”

“W-What?”

“They only take on ponies that are smaller than they are… you saw how fast they ran when I showed up… but I can’t be there to save you all the time, Pip… you need to learn to stand up for yourself and show them how much braver you are than them. You’re stronger than you think you are, you know…”

Pipsqueak let out a sob as he pressed his face against his brother’s chest, still crying his eyes out.

Patch smiled slightly as he rubbed Pipsqueak’s mane gently, trying to comfort the crying colt. “C’mon… let’s go home, baby bro… mum made us a very special snack for my visit. Some honey-nut treats.”

Pipsqueak sniffled again and looked up at Patch with a small smile. “T-Those… those are my favorite…”

“Attaboy…” Patch picked him up and set him on his back. “We'd better hurry before dad eats them all!” He started to walk off, carrying Pipsqueak carefully as they made their way home. Pipsqueak could almost forget the beating he received by the bullies. For now, his brother was home and that was all he needed to smile.

“Are ya okay? You can open your eyes now.”

Pipsqueak slowly opened an eye, seeing Apple Bloom standing over him, holding out a hoof. “Diamond Tiara an’ Silver Spoon left just now… Ah guess they got bored and went home…”

“Next time I see those spoiled jerks…” Scootaloo fumed as she sat with her fore hooves crossed. “I’ll tear their manes off!”

“That’s so mean!” Sweetie Belle said, however, she did giggle a bit, more and likely at the thought of a bald-headed Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Um… thank you…” Pipsqueak said as he took the filly’s hoof and stood up straight. “I thought they were going to hit me, so I…”

“Hit you?” Scootaloo looked over. “You were afraid of those two hitting you? They can barely kick the ball more than two feet at soccer! You wussed out big time!”

Pipsqueak lowered his head, remembering gym class last week. “Oh yeah… they weren’t very good at all…”

“They drive us up the wall too…” Apple Bloom groaned as she looked at her flank. “Always calling us Blank Flanks…”

“And saying that we’ll never get our cutie marks…” Sweetie Belle lowered her head sadly.

“And calling me a chicken!” Scootaloo stomped on the ground. “I am NOT a chicken!”

“They make fun of me because of my height…” Pipsqueak sighed.

“You are pretty small even though we’re the same age…” Sweetie Belle pointed out. “Do you have Dwarfism? “

“Uh… no, Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo shook her head. “Otherwise he’d have a really bushy beard!”

“Oh yeah…” Sweetie Belle said with a sudden nod. “Oh! If he had Elfism, he would be the tallest pony in the class!”

The exchange made Pipsqueak feel even worst about his height. He didn’t have any medical reason to be the way he was, at least not that he knew of. He was just... small… the runt of the family.

“Hey! Ya got a blank flank just like we do!” Apple Bloom said as she pointed a hoof at Pipsqueak’s backside. He wasn’t sure if they were deliberately trying to make him feel worst about himself, but they weren’t exactly making him feel better either.

“Oh my gosh! You’re right, Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle seemed to light up at the news. “You know what we should do?”

“Ah reckon Ah know what yer gonna say.” Apple Bloom smiled at her. “And Ah think it’s a great idea!”

“Uh… what are we gonna do?” Scootaloo asked, confused almost as much as Pipsqueak was at that moment.

“We should take him cutie mark crusading with us!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with a cute little hop.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom said with equal excitement. “Why, with four ponies, we just might be able to get our cutie marks even faster!”

Pipsqueak was surprised at the two fillies’ announcement. He barely knew any of the ponies in his class, and yet they wanted him to go ‘cutie mark crusading’ with them? He wasn’t even sure what ‘cutie mark crusading’ was… let alone if he even wanted to join them.

“Wait a minute…” Scootaloo said in a slightly protesting-tone. “Can we have a Cutie Mark Crusader huddle here?”

In what seemed like a flash, the three fillies gathered together in a huddle, leaving Pipsqueak to watch in puzzlement. He could see them conversing with one another, but couldn’t make out what was being said. Despite his curiosity, he dared not approach them, dreading what they could be saying about him.

“Are we sure we want this guy to crusade with us?” Scootaloo said in a whisper. “He doesn’t seem like the ‘crusader’ type…”

“There’s a crusader type?” Sweetie Belle said out loud, receiving a harsh hush from Scootaloo. “Sorry…”

“Look… you saw how he spaced out during Miss Cheerilee’s reading lesson today… not to mention how scared he was when the jerk pair was picking on him. How’s a pony like that supposed to help us get our cutie marks?”

“Well, Ah think he deserves a chance.” Apple Bloom said adamantly. “Ah’m sure that after a while, he’ll be just as determined as we are to get a cutie mark!”

“We don’t have a while, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo argued. “We can’t just wait for him to become crusader material… a crusader is born brave and always focused on the task at hoof!”

“Hey, Scoots! What’s that over there?” Apple Bloom pointed a distance away.

“Where?” Scootaloo quickly turned her head towards where Apple Bloom was pointing. “… I don’t see anything.” She couldn’t hear Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotting away, giggling. “… I still don’t see it. What am I looking a… hey!” She turned, seeing her two friends standing in front of Pipsqueak.

“So it’s settled!” Apple Bloom said to him with a huge smile. “We’d like to invite ya to join us on our Cutie Mark Crusade this weekend!”

Pipsqueak looked away and kicked his fore hoof in the dirt. “I don’t know… I kind of just want to stay home all weekend…”

“But it’ll be so much fun!” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “We came up with a fool-proof plan that’s sure to get us our Cutie Marks!”

Scootaloo joined the others, a sour expression on her face. “That was a dirty trick, Apple Bloom… but if you insist on him being a part of this plan, then fine…”

“Well…” Pipsqueak looked up at the three. “What exactly is the plan this weekend?”

Immediately, the three fillies perked up as they raised their heads high and shouted at the top of their lungs. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CAMPING TRIP!”

“Ahhhhh!” Pipsqueak winced as he covered his poor ears. “C-Camping trip?”

“We’re gonna rough it in the Whitetail Wood and do as many things as possible, so we can earn our cutie marks!” Apple Bloom declared. “Makin’ Smores’!”

“Star-gazing!” Sweetie Belle declared after her.

“Telling Ghost Stories!” Scootaloo grinned, unaware that her statement made Sweetie Belle whimper a little.

“… I… I don’t know…” Pipsqueak sighed sadly. “I think I…”

“Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little camping trip!” Scootaloo narrowed her eyes at him.

Pipsqueak shuddered a little at her glare. “N-No… I… I used to go camping a lot back in Trottingham…”

“See! He’s already an experienced camper!” Apple Bloom said to Scootaloo. “He’s perfect for this trip!”

Pipsqueak kept looking at the three fillies. Why were they so insistent that he’d join their trip? He supposed that it would be helpful having what they considered an ‘experienced camper’ around. And maybe sitting at home wasn’t the best way to spend a whole weekend anyway.

“…I… If you really want me to go… then I’ll come along then…” He nodded hesitantly.

“Yay!” The crusaders cheered in unison. However, it was obvious that Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were much more enthusiastic than Scootaloo.

“I’ll… I’ll talk to my parents and…” Pipsqueak started to say before Scootaloo got really close to him, prodding a hoof against his chest.

“Be there at six o’clock… just outside the Whitetail Wood. Don’t be late… we don’t wait for stragglers… Oh! And you better not hold us back from getting our cutie marks… got it?”

Pipsqueak swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. “G-Got it…”

“Alright then…” Scootaloo gave a slight smile, which would have been almost comforting were it not for her still narrowed eyes. “I’m gonna go pack for the trip. I’ll see you girls later!” She said as she walked off.

“I'd better pack too!” Sweetie Belle nodded. “If my sister packs for me, I’ll probably have nothing but soap and fancy clothes the entire trip. Bye Pipsqueak! Bye Apple Bloom!” She galloped off happily.

“We’ll seeya there, Pipsqueak!” Apple Bloom smiled at him. “Ah can’t wait! It’s gonna be so fun!” She said as she ran off to prepare as well.

“Yeah… fun…” Pipsqueak said as he frowned sadly. “Can’t wait…” He turned and started the short trek home. He wished he could feel excited about this experience. At one time, he loved camping… it was one of his favorite things to do during the weekend.

It was one of Patch’s favorite things to do too, and just another thing that he and Pipsqueak would never get to experience together again.

Comments

[Unicron]

My name is Unicron and I approve of this

*eats*

[Finding_out]

Not bad, not bad at all.

[Your Antagonist]

Beautiful, glad to see Pipsqueak's getting more love

[Delicious]

I second Dayland's motion! Awesome; tracked!

[Delicious]

108633

And five stars of course.. Eh heh...

[sweetiepie19]

yes i agree very well written!!!!! so beautiful i almost cried!!! thats how good it isfluttercry:

[MaverickVox]

This is a good start and I really want to see it do well. You really get the idea down that the adults know he needs to talk about the incident to get over it, but the youngster doesn't understand it yet.

However, I have one minor concern. I worry that Pipsqueak is going to come off as too sad. I know that's because he's being thrown into situations that remind him of what happened, but I feel like if he doesn't show a brief smile or something soon, the story's gonna go into "Batman Meme" mode. You know the one.

I don't really rate stories until they're mostly done, but right now, this is definitely in the 4.5-5 star range. Keep it up.

[Trinary]

Awww, poor Pip. *Hugs*

I've been in Pip's hooves. It sucks royal.

[Lumopony]

Track+5 Stars.

This story is too legit to quit.

[Tonto the Trotter]

This is a fantastic story definitely tracking now

[ScottWolf]

So far it's a winner ^.=.^

[BornIn1142]

It's well-written and all, but Pipsqueak being totally unrecognizable from the character on the show kills it for me.

A couple things come to mind on this. One, ponies are more likely to kick than punch.

What bugs me more though, is the idea that bullies are cowards and "all you need to do" is put on a brave face and stand up for yourself, and somehow this'll magically make them back off. More often than not, that advice does more harm than good, at least in itself. A bully will usually just see that as an challenge to break the victim as thoroughly as possible, not unlike what happens when an animal challenges an alpha. If -- like Pip's Trottingham bullies -- they're already outright violent, it can indeed escalate it straight to the hospital. Even if the victim somehow comes out on top, an ambush on the way home from school and away from the eyes of authority is not out of the question. Seen it happen. It's one of the most depressing things you can imagine.

From the kids I see and work with, social confidence is often enough to not become an appealing target in the first place, but mostly because there's probably someone else who happens to have less. But once they've "locked on" so to speak, just about the only thing that will get them to actually break it off is friends and numbers -- which is easier said than done when potential friends know that mere association with the victim risks being another target.

Sorry for the rant there. I bring this up because "stand up for yourself" is a preventative measure to stop from being bullied again (or rather, not be the one who is), not a solution to stop it happening this time. It doesn't do any good to anyone who's already deeply in that situation, and indeed that being a prevailing mentality only serves to perpetuate the problem -- not just in any specific victim's case, but in how students and authorities alike react to bullying on the whole. It implicitly shifts the burden of responsibility entirely onto the victim, that something must be wrong with them and heaping immense feelings of inferiority on top of the mess, and ignoring that half the problem is that whether via social ineptitude or continued bullying, they never had enough support from the very people with the greatest power by far to stop it: everyone else.

What would've helped Pip with bullies wouldn't have been somehow suddenly being a confident, well-rounded individual. It would've been the CMC's reaching out -- indeed the confidence would have followed from that, not preceded it. Friendship is magic, after all.

[kladdos]

Off to chapter 2!

[Borg]

Just remember, Pip: if you let tragedy rule your life, the terrorists win.