Brotherhood is Magic

by GauntletsofRai

Pippin

"Oh my word, that is simply disgusting!" The group of unlikely companions stared at a lump of dirty pink clothes snoring loudly on a pile of trash just behind the local bakery with the sign above the door that read: 'Sugar Cube Corner.' The object of everyone's attention muttered a stifled groan and shifted it's weight among the piles of trash. Roald looked as though he might retch at any moment, albeit rather theatrically. "THE Princess Celestia personally chose THAT to go on a quest of national importance?"

Thomas looked doubtfully at the man sleeping peacefully in the garbage. "If that's Peregrine Pious, than yes. Though he's not looking so Pious right about now." In response, the forlorn mass of faded pink again let a groan escape into a bag full of molded bread, knocking a few broken bottles away with a fitful kick of his leg.

"I'm sorry, but as much as I respect the Princess' wishes, I am NOT going on a quest with HIM."
The ring of the bell above the shop's door sounded as Jack walked back to the group, holding a bag of sweet rolls. He looked down the gutter and saw the man lying in the trash, and spoke through a mouth full of sweets. "Who's the bum?"

A breeze fluttered by the group, lifting the smell of the sweet rolls with it. Thomas could have sworn that he could see the smell, like steam rising off of a cup of hot tea, and floating towards the forlorn bum. The palpable smell circled the man's head like a halo, and entered his nostrils as he inhaled. As soon as the smell of the sweet rolls entered his nose, the pile of garbage exploded into a miasma of refuse, with him at the center. As the group of adventurers ducked to avoid the onslaught of garbage, the man, who was about Thomas' height, but as muscled as Jack, stood poised like a wolf searching for prey with his back to them. He sniffed around, and then turned his head towards them, his eyes literally hungry. When he spotted the bag in Jack's hand, he let out a raucous exclamation into the alleyway. "SWEET ROLLS!" Shane ducked behind Jack as the madman dashed straight forward and abruptly stopped before him. "I'd know Mrs. Cake's sumptuous cinnamon sweet rolls anywhere!" He looked up at Jack with puppy dog eyes and held out his hands. "Just one? I'm good for it!"

Jack rolled his eyes and dropped a hot sticky sweet roll in the maniac's hands. Almost immediately, he tore into it, tearing away large chunks like a ravenous wolf. He paused when he noticed the group, especially Roald, who had his hand over his mouth, staring at him in disgust. Frowning as though they had barged into his house uninvited, he glared at them, his mouth full of sweet roll. "Can I help you?"

Thomas looked affronted, but proceeded anyways. "Are you Peregrine Pious?"

The insane man suddenly straightened his posture and elegantly bowed, a gesture which was neutralized by the sweet roll icing around his mouth. "At your service, milord. And what can I do for you this fine day?"

Thomas narrowed his eyes and shook the puzzled look from his face. "You have been requested by Princess Celestia to accompany us on a journey to the north of here, to investigate-"

"A mission you say? What's in it for me? HMM?!"

Thomas struggled with the impulse to apply force to the man's head, but succeeded in regaining his composure. "For completing this task, you will receive the highest honors from Princess-"

"OK, I'll do it! You only had to ask once!"

Thomas sighed and passed a hand over his face. "Well, that was easy."

The lunatic in the faded pink tunic strolled into the shop he was previously sleeping outside of. "Let me just get my things, and we'll be on our way!"

"Wait! I haven't even told you where we're going, or anything!"

He stopped and shook his head as he turned back to Thomas and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. It's OK! Just a little reconnaissance mission, nothing to worry about! I pinkie-promise, you'll be safe and sound with your best friend Pippin at your side!" Pippin sighed deeply as he pulled Thomas into a rather awkward hug. "We're friends, right? I like to think we're friends."

Thomas, who was now thoroughly disturbed, disentangled himself from the raving madman. "How did you know all that? Just who are you, anyways?!"

Pippin pulled a scroll from behind Thomas' ear and twirled it between his fingers. "It's all right here in the mission plan!" He stopped and assessed the group. "Wait, where's Dash? Haven't you found him yet?"

After the initial shock of this thoroughly strange man knowing almost everything instantly, Thomas increased his anger and snatched the scroll from Pippin's hand. Infuriated, he poked a finger at the incriminated lunatic, accenting his statement with a poke. "Listen, I don't know HOW you're doing all this, but this is a SERIOUS mission! Just GET your stuff and lets GO."

Pippin backed away, his hands held up in the air defensively. "Alright, ok, fine, jeez. Serious, I get it! No funny business! Just cool your jets captain!"

Thomas took his advice and 'cooled his jets.' "I'm sorry, it's been a long day, and frankly you just kinda threw me off-balance for a second, I... I... uhhh..." Thomas looked back at where Pippin had been standing, only to find empty space before a swinging door. With an incredulous look on his face, he turned towards the other members of his group, who all sported the exact same puzzled looks on their faces.

Jack sputtered for a moment and then regained his tongue. "What just happened here?"

"That man has to be the most insane person I have ever seen! Are we going to trust our lives with this lunatic?! How do we know he won't kill us in our sleep?!"

Thomas sighed heavily again. "Look guys, if the Princess thinks he's okay, than I'm okay with him too. Just trust her judgement. Besides, did you see how he cross-analysed me like that? He's probably a trusted spy to help us gather intelligence!"

"Yeah guys, give him a chance!"

"Exactly! Now if we can get to town... square..." Thomas turned slowly to see Pippin, standing unnoticed among the group. Thomas jumped and grasped the front of his tunic. "SHIT!" He panted like he was having a heart attack.

"You okay pal?"

Thomas went on panting, trying to recover from the shock Pippin had given him. "How? Where? Oh never mind, let's just get going already."

"Okie Dokie Lokie, Capn'!" The extremely improbable man rested his hand on an iron flail that hung from a chain about a foot and a half long.

"Just don't call me captain, okay? Thomas is fine."

"You got it, caaaa.... Thomas!"

Thomas shook his head in amusement and gathered up his very strange party, heading for the center of Mannsville.

* * *

Thomas and his band of misfit soldiers stood in the Mannsville town square, next to the notice board covered with various announcements and help wanted posters. He tapped his foot impatiently and looked up at the sun, which was now visibly past noon. "Where is Dash? He should have come by this way to meet us at the North Gate!"

Jack approached them from the north side of town, shaking his head. "He wasn't up at the North Gate. I don't know where he coulda' gone off to."

Thomas threw his hands into the air and walked away. "Come on men, I don't have time for this."

"Where'll we go next?"

"We'll just have to make our way to the Cloud Vale and hope we meet him on our way there."

"Can't we just go on without him?" Roald asked.

"No. Princess Celestia gave explicit instructions to have ALL of our party here before we proceed."

The team walked on for some time, hoping to see Dash along the way, but had no such luck. Thomas grew more and more anxious with each step. The Princess was counting on him, and he was going to let her down by failing to gather the group she had arranged for him. With each thought of letting the Princess down, his resolve strengthened, and he started to walk faster and faster. I am going to find this guy, no matter what. Even if I have to drag him along by his heels.

* * *

The group gathered at the base of the second largest mountain in Equestria, excluding the one which Camelot was carved into. This mountain was much taller than a mountain of it's girth should logically be. A subject which Thomas had studied years ago, and still had not grasped. Each side of the mountain was a sheer cliff face from the point Thomas and his party stood. He could see the gleam of the city near the very top, and now spotted two shapes gliding down to meet them. These shapes were two men on gliders, each of them garbed in armor that should have been much too heavy for the gliders to carry. As they alighted, all the hope that one of them was Dash had faded. Instead, two almost identical soldiers in the armor of the Equestrian National Guard approached them.

"Ho, travelers. What business have you in the Vale?"

Thomas stepped forward resolutely and held out the royal seal on the scroll the Princess had given him. "By order of Princess Celestia, we have come to retrieve Dionysius of the Color Guard for a special operations mission."

The first guard looked at the scroll and studied the seal. "Right this way, sir Thomas of Twilight and guests."

The second guard took the bow strapped to his back, fitted an arrow with a blue tip on the end, and shot it as high up as he could. The arrow was obviously enchanted, as it gave off a trail of blue smoke as it rose and struck the side of the mountain. After a few moments, a gleaming box of wood with a metal frame lowered itself down ruts in the mountain that Thomas had failed to notice before. Soon the box had reached them, and the guards stepped inside, gesturing for the group to follow, and looking a bit anxious at Spike, the look on their faces denoting that they had obviously never seen a dragon before.

As they were all inside, the lift groaned and slid upwards at a quick but steady pace. Shane clutched the guard rails and started to turn green, while Pippin hawked an irreverently large loogie and spat it over the edge, laughing with glee as it plummeted towards the ground.

Jack leaned over to Thomas and whispered in his ear. "I din't know you were a knight!"

"I'm not, it's just a title."

'"Oh, that's good." Jack looked relieved as he turned his head to look at the ground which shrunk beneath them. It was strange, but Thomas knew that somehow, Jack felt relieved that Thomas was not a knight, because then he would be unbelievably uncomfortable around him. Thomas dismissed it for a hunch, but deep inside, he knew something between him and these strange men were forming. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

* * *

Comments

[GauntletsofRai]

I want to thank all yoos guyses for giving me such support!
It means a lot, and will hopefully propel me towards my overall goal of making it on the front page of Equestria Daily!

[Irongalley]

I'm not sure why, but the flail definitely fits pinkie in a strange way I wouldn't have thought before... It is scary in its own way.

Can't wait till the next chapter dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Sweetie_happy.png

[GauntletsofRai]

1728722
I tried to chose a weapon that fits each character. Pippin gets a flail because it's unpredictable and hard to control.