Brotherhood is Magic

by GauntletsofRai

Shane

Shane tip-toed as quietly as he could around the Carousel Boutique; Mannsville's residential raiment manufacturer, or at least that's what Roald called it. Roald, the owner of the store, had informed Shane that his pants were ready and repaired. Shane winced as he recalled the images of his embarrassing mishap at the town fair, when his pants split right down the seam in front of everybody. He had run to his cottage that was situated as far from the town as conveniently possible, and hid from everyone for a week. Currently, Roald was Shane's only real friend, as he was the only one in town that respected his "demure" attitude and "impeccable subtlety." Truth be told, Shane had only one friend because he was deathly afraid of other people. And it didn't help that he had become the laughing stock of all Mannsville, an idea of Shane's that Roald was constantly trying to dismiss. But Shane didn't want to take any chances, so he approached any place in Mannsville with utter caution.

Roald knew how shy Shane could be, so he gave him access to the back door, to pick up his orders without running into anyone. He unlocked the door with the key Roald had given him, and slipped inside before anyone could see. He closed the door and gave a sigh of relief before moving through the storage room that led outside. Shane felt honored that Roald trusted him enough to give him the key to the room that held his entire stock, including some very valuable gemstones. The most interesting thing about Roald was that he could sense where gemstones were hidden in the ground. This ability had granted him a considerable amount of wealth and standing within the community. He even overcame his position as a middle class citizen and had now been ranked with some of the kingdom's most notable nobility. But the best thing about Roald was that he was always generous. He had offered to tailor Shane's pants for free, but Shane insisted that he pay for them, so Roald had cut his normal price in half. Shane sure was lucky to have a friend like him.

He peered around, looking for his pants, but couldn't find them. "Roald, are you here?" Shane called very meekly, even though he hadn't seen anyone walk into the store for at least ten minutes now. Shane entered the doorway to his left into Roald's stitching room, filled with swatches of cloth every shade of color, and numerous mannequins and clothing diagrams. Shane spotted his repaired pants hanging on a rack by the wall and happily went to grab them. He stopped as he tucked the pants under his arm, hearing a noise. Someone was talking to Roald. An unfamiliar voice was talking to Roald. Shane flattened out the wall and began breathing heavily. He had made sure no one else was here, but it turned out he wasn't as thorough as he should have been. I'll just step out, really quite, and they won't even notice I was here. As he slid towards the door, he couldn't help but overhear the conversation that was going on behind the wall.

"An important investigation? I don't mean to sound rude, but wherever would that be? I had though Equestria was in a time of peace!"

The unfamiliar voice spoke now. "We are to receive orders as to where the disturbance is once we've gathered the party and are ready to depart."

"But I just don't understand why the Princess would want ME, of all people, to accompany a band of warriors into battle? I'm not really one for fighting."

A mission from the Princess? Shane knew Roald was on the up and up with many of Equestria's finest, but a request from the Princess was BIG news indeed. If this was true, Roald would probably go to live up in Camelot, near the Princess as a war hero. He would get notoriety and fame beyond what he had already acquired, and Shane would be left alone in Mannsville, without a friend in the world. He had to see who this was talking to Roald, but crippling fear still bolted his body in place. He stilled himself, breathed in and out a few times, then slowly poked his head around the corner.

Roald was standing in front of the counter, which was placed to the left of the shop's front entrance. There were two strangers standing with there backs to Shane; one was in a purple tunic and had straight black hair, while the other was taller and more muscled, with an orange jacket and bushy straw colored hair. Then Shane looked down and saw a purple shape on the floor. He didn't know what it was at first, since it was unlike any animal he had seen, which was quite a few considering that he had taken care of and cataloged every local fauna there was. When he realized what it was, he let out an audible gasp, and the three turned to look in his direction. When he had realized what he had done, he ducked back out of their sight as quickly as possible.

"Shane, is that you? Come out here, it's alright! These men are just here to invite me on a little outing!"

Shane stepped out, ashamed that he had been hiding, and walked into the light, partially hiding his face behind the curtain of his hair, which he combed all to one side. He rubbed his neck awkwardly as the two men greeted him. Their names were Thomas, the shorter one, and Jack, the taller one.

Shane meekly muttered out his greetings. "Um, hi, I'm Shane. You said something about a, um, quest?"

The one in purple, Thomas, spoke up. "Yes, a quest to investigate the north of Equestria on account of some disturbances in the area."

Shane spoke up, more boldly than he would have normally. "Um, is that a baby dragon?"

Thomas looked down at the purple creature on the floor, and then back at Shane. "Yes, this is Spike. I raised him from a-"

Shane half-sprinted towards Spike and picked him up in an embrace. "WOW, I've never seen a baby dragon before! How old is he? Does he eat gemstones like I've heard?"

Roald, obviously shocked at Shane's frankness, gaped at him for several seconds. "Shane, my goodness! I don' think I've ever seen you like this!"

Shane, remembering himself, put Spike back on the floor and headed for the door wit his head hung low and his shoulders stooped. "I'm sorry, I should go."

But before he could leave, Thomas put a hand on his shoulder. "Wait, Shane? As in Shane of Blackheed in the Cloud Vale?"

Now it was Shane's turn to look surprised. "Yes, how did you know?"

Thomas pulled out a scroll from his belt and showed him the royal seal attached to the front. "You're on the list to accompany us as well! Princess Celestia has cordially requested that you-"

Shane turned white as a sheet at the news. "Me? Why? I've never been in the army! I don't even know how to fight!" He fell to his knees and grasped Thomas by his shirt. "Please, I'll do anything! I can't go on the mission, I just can't!"

"Pull yourself together, man!" Roald marched over to Shane and picked him up by the collar, dusting him off as he set him on his feet. "It's perfectly safe! It's just a reconnaissance mission, that's all! Plus I'll be there with you all the way, so there's nothing to worry about."

The bigger man, Jack, approached Shane as he struggled to control his breathing, and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Like he said, there aint nothin' to worry 'bout. I give ya' my word that I'll do my best to get both 'a ya'll back here, safe and sound. You two'll be safer than a egg in a basket."

Shane looked straight into Jack's honest eyes, and gave him a reassured glance as he grasped his forearm. He turned back to Thomas and spoke with greater resolve than he had ever showed before. "Alright, I'll do it. When do we leave?"

Thomas looked back at his scroll, frowning in concentration. "I'd like to get ready and going by at least noon today."

* * *

Shane instantly lost his new found resolve and went as rigid as a statue. "Welp, we better get to goin' now." Jack dropped a pack of provisions onto Shane's rigid back and pushed him out the door, his feet scraping against the floor, like a stone statue. Thomas and Roald, who had spent more time than Thomas would have liked picking out a suitable outfit and combing his hair into an elaborate swirl that rested on one side of his head, walked out the door behind Jack and Shane.

Roald had chosen a short but elegant silver-gilded sword, and an artfully spiraled, slender mahogany wand, which extended from his outstretched arm about three feet, which was much shorter than Thomas' six-foot staff of ash wood. Shane didn't own a weapon, so Roald had lent him a wicked double-edged battleaxe that had obviously seen a few battles of it's own. Jack looked at the vicious weapon now hanging from Shane's back as he slowly regained the ability to walk. "Hey Rolad, I didn't peg you as a battleaxe kinda' guy."

Roald stopped combing his hair and acknowledged the weapon."Hm? Oh, that old thing. Yes, it was my father's weapon he used in the battle of Nine Rivers oh so long ago. He gave it to me when he retired from the army, but I never found a use for the thing."

"No kiddin'? My Pa' fought at Nine Rivers! What squad was yer' pa in?"

Roald, now finding common ground with the brutishly large man, gave a surprised smile. "Why, he was in foot squad four. Did you know of him?"

"Well I'll be, my Pa was in squad four! Wait a minute..." Jack looked back at the axe, a look of recognition crossing his face. "Are you tellin' me that YOUR pa was Strongaxe Westmorland?!"

"Oh, yes, that was his nickname they gave him. They said he slew over one hundred men at that battle, all by himself."

Jack looked back at Roald, his eyes now full of new found respect. "I can't believe I'm goin' on a mission with the son of Strongaxe Westmorland!" Jack gave Roald an affectionate punch on the arm, while Roald flinched and rubbed his bruise, laughing nervously.

"Well that must mean that your father was the legendary Wolfsbane! My father talked very often about him!"

"No kiddin'? I had no idea they even knew each other!"

Thomas looked back at the rugged farmer and the fashion designer, who were now chatting away like old friends. "Well it looks like you two are getting along just fine." They were so deep in conversation about various stories and tales of their fathers that they didn't even here him. He sighed and looked back at his scroll, which he had started carrying in his hand. "Well that looks like everyone except for the last one on the list. Does anyone know a Peregrine Pious?"
Roald immediately stopped his conversation and looked disgusted at the mention of the name. "Oh fiddlesticks, not HIM."

* * *

Comments

[Irongalley]

Its Pinkie time! dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/Pinkie_Pie_lolface.png

[Flutter derp]

Well i found one teeny mistake but it's no biggie

headed for the door wit his head hung low

Missing an h in with.

But keep the story running!