//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Brotherly Bond // by Crash Jet //------------------------------// Brotherly Bond Chapter 2 “Alright Pip… I’ll hold the deck of the ship steady while you glue on the foremast.” Using his teeth, Pipsqueak carefully grabbed the foremast piece of the model ship he and Patch were building together and placed it atop the deck in its appropriate spot. He leaned back in his seat and looked at his work. “I did it, Patch! It looks perfect!” “That it does.” Patch smiled as he set the ship down on the table. “We’ll be finished with this thing in no time! Maybe you’ll even get a cutie mark for ship building when we’re done!” “That would be nice…” Pipsqueak nodded as he looked at his brother’s cutie mark: a light gold shield. “But I want my cutie mark to be as cool as yours!” Patch chuckled a little. “Yeah… I guess it is pretty cool… but I think that yours will be a lot more special when it comes.” Pipsqueak let out a slightly upset sigh. “All the other ponies in my class already have their cutie marks… I’m the only one without one…” “Sounds a lot like me when I was your age… I had to wait a long time before I got mine.” “Really?” Pipsqueak looked over at him. “You didn’t get your mark until you were older?” “Oh yeah…” He nodded as he started to work on the next part of the ship. “I remember I used to go out every day and do a bunch of things to try and find my special talent and get my mark. I’d do as much as I could each day as fast as I could get them done.” He picked up the deck again and inspected it closely. “Bird watching… tightrope walking… break dancing… and so on. Seemed like every other day, I had nothing to show for it except coming home covered in tree sap.” Pipsqueak laughed at the thought. “But… you were able to find the thing that got you your cutie mark by doing that, right?” “Well… no… after a few years of trying to force myself to find my mark, I just stopped… I guess I realized that a cutie mark is more special when it isn’t rushed and it’s allowed to show up when it was time. Then one day… I was in town and saw the Royal Guards marching in a parade. They seemed so cool and looked really brave. I pictured myself marching along with them… in full armor. That’s when this thing finally showed up.” He looked at his cutie mark with a smile. “That’s how I knew that I wanted to join the Royal Guard one day... and it felt so great knowing that I found what would be my special gift…” Patch looked over at his brother, who was glancing down at his blank flank with a sad look in his eyes. “Don’t get me wrong, Pip!” Patch quickly added. “I want you to go out and try and find your mark. But make sure you have fun doing it. Oh… and do be safe while you do it… I don’t think mum wants to pick up another one of her boys from the hospital…” “Huh? Hospital?” “…Let’s just say I’m really glad I don’t have a cutie mark for makeshift catapult testing…” Patch laughed as he rubbed Pipsqueak’s mane. Pipsqueak snapped back into reality when he accidentally bumped into Scootaloo and knocked himself down. “Gah!” “Ow!” Scootaloo turned and glared at him. “Watch where you’re going, Pipsqueak! That hurt!” “Sorry…” Pip said, smiling sheepishly. “I… I guess I spaced out…” “You do that WAY too much you know… if you want to get your cutie mark, you need to focus!” She snapped as she started to walk off to join Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle a few feet away. Pipsqueak pulled himself up and nervously walked after her. “Ah’m just sayin’, Sweetie Belle…” Apple Bloom drawled out, pointing at Sweetie Belle’s head. “Seems really funny to be wearin’ that on a camping trip…” “Rarity said I have to wear this to keep the bugs from biting my face…” Sweetie Belle was sporting a light-pink gardening hat, complete with a mesh mosquito netting surrounding her face. “But Ah packed some bug spray that works just as good! Ya don’t need that silly thing.” “I guess that would be better…” Sweetie Belle said as she used her hooves to throw off the hat. “It’s really hot and stuffy in there anyway.” She let out a grin when she saw Pipsqueak and Scootaloo arrive. “Scootaloo! Pipsqueak! You both made it!” “We ready, Crusaders?” Scootaloo said proudly as she slammed a hoof to her chest. “Tonight’s the night we get our cutie marks!” “Yeah!” Apple Bloom jumped up. “We’re gonna find our talents an’ show the world just how awesome we are!” “Uh…” Sweetie Belle seemed stumped for a moment, but quickly recovered. “Ditto!” “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CAMPING TRIP! YAY!” Pipsqueak removed his hooves from his ears. They could at least warn a fellow before they shout like that. “Umm… right!” He half-heartedly cheered. “Ah’m really glad you could make it, Pipsqueak.” Apple Bloom said as she walked over to him. “Yeah… my mum and dad said it was okay, long as I’m home by noon tomorrow…” He said, looking away from her shyly. He was still getting used to the idea of going on a camping trip with these strange ponies. He started to nervously fidget with his saddlebag. “Mah big sis told me the same thing…” Apple Bloom said with a sigh. “Says that a campin’ trip is no excuse for shirkin’ off the chores. She treats me like I’m still a lil’ filly sometimes!” “Yeah…” Sweetie Belle nodded. “My big sister told me I couldn’t play in the mud, dirt, bushes, trees, or anything that’ll get my coat dirty. She kept saying,” Sweetie Belle put on her best Rarity impression. “’It’s improper for a lady to engage in such barbaric activities when she doesn’t have to.’” Apple Bloom laughed. “That was pretty good, Sweetie Belle!” “I’ve been practicing!” Now Pipsqueak was nervous. There they were, talking about their siblings. Would he have to do so next? He was worried that the very moment he mentioned Patch, they would try to delve deeper into the subject. Then the bad memory and the pain would come back, followed by tears. Luckily for him, before the two fillies had a chance to speak up, the third, most impatient filly, called out to them. “Let’s go! We gotta go hike out for a good spot while there's still light out!” “Oh right!” Sweetie Belle said as she raced up to Scootaloo. “Let’s get goin', Pipsqueak!” Apple Bloom flashed a smile at him and ran after her two friends. Pipsqueak attempted to chase after them, but the saddlebag he carried was a bit heavy. “Wah!” He tripped and landed face first in the dirt. “Argh.” Scootaloo let out a groan as she facehoofed. “So not cool.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The hike to search for the perfect camping site had been mostly uneventful for Pipsqueak. All four ponies, each carrying their own fully packed saddlebag, cantered along a lone trail leading deeper into the woods. While the three fillies were ahead of him, he was trailing behind and looking at the scenery of trees and leaves that surrounded the path. He could hear Scootaloo chatting up a storm about something incredible she saw a certain rainbow-maned mare do a few days ago. Something about an ‘Atomic Rainboom’ or whatever she called it. He didn’t really care. Right now his mind was focused more on the trail they were walking on. In his mind, the forest of Whitetail Wood was now a smaller forest just outside of Trottingham. The three fillies in front of him were nowhere to be seen, And walking alongside him was Patch. “Just a bit further, Pip!” Patch said with a grin. He was carrying the bulk of the camping supplies, while his younger brother just had a smaller saddlebag filled with snacks. “I think I found us an even better spot to camp at from now on!” “We’re going pretty far this time, Patch…” Pipsqueak said, looking around at the unfamiliar landscape. “Are you sure we won’t get lost?” Patch let out a chuckle. “Navigational Training at Boot Camp. We’ll be fine, baby bro!” He looked ahead, seeing their destination just a few yards away. “There it is!” Pipsqueak looked over and his eyes lit up with excitement. “Wow!” The site Patch had chosen was a rather large clearing in the forest, but the thing that caught Pipsqueak’s attention was the mid-sized lake that was nested calmly in the middle of the site. He raced ahead as fast as he could. “Careful, Pip!” Patch followed him. “Don’t trip!” Pipsqueak stopped before the lake, looking at his reflection in the water. The lake was crystal clear; he could easily see the fish swimming beneath the surface. He decided to make a funny face at his reflection, laughing at the image. “I didn’t know there was a lake here this whole time!” Patch set down the gear and dug into a large saddlebag. “I didn’t either… but I was thrilled when I found it. Means we get to test these things out!” He pulled his head out of the bag and was carefully holding with his teeth two pirate ship toys. “Cool!” Pipsqueak ran over to him. “Can we try them out right now?!” Patch walked over and set the two ships along the shallow edge of the lake. “The breeze is just right… one good nudge and these things are sure to make it all the way to the other side of the lake.” Pipsqueak ran over to the edge and pressed his nose against the rear of one of the ships, careful not to send it sailing too soon. Patch followed suit and took control of the other ship. The two brothers looked at each other with big smiles. “What do ya say, Pip?” Patch asked. “Last one to the other end collects the firewood?” “You’re on, Patch!” Pipsqueak declared with determination. “1…2…3… Go!” Both brothers nudged their ships and sent them coasting over the water, the gentle wind catching the sails and pushing both ships farther and faster. Pipsqueak started to jump up and down with excitement as his ship passed Patch’s. The older brother smiled warmly, happy to see the colt having such a wonderful time. “Pipsqueak? Hello? Anypony home?!” “What?” Pipsqueak snapped out of his day dream and looked around. He was back on the Whitetail Wood trail, and a pair of large amber eyes was staring at him. “Oh! I did it again…” He frowned. “Sorry…” “No need to apologize!” Apple Bloom said with a comforting grin. “Ah saw you were starting to fall back so Ah figured Ah’d walk along with ya. Frankly, Ah think Ah heard enough about Rainbow Dash for one day…” “Your loss!” Scootaloo shouted at her. “Right Sweetie Belle?” “Uh… right…” Sweetie Belle fibbed. Now she was trapped in dealing with Scootaloo’s fangirl ramblings. Despite having a pony his own age to talk to, Pipsqueak remained silent. Conversations with fillies weren’t something he had much experience with. Back in Trottingham, he went to an all-colt school, and he could almost easily have a good chat with the few friends he had at the time. This would be his first real one-on-one conversation with a filly, and he was at a complete loss for words. Apple Bloom seemed to sense this and decided that she would bring up the first topic. It would take her a moment to come up with a good subject to start with. “Uh… so! Nightmare Night is coming up soon! What are you gonna be this year, Pipsqueak?” “Nightmare Night?” He looked at her, slightly confused. “Well, ah course! Ya know about Nightmare Night, right?” “…I never really celebrated it before… my mum and dad didn’t want me going out after dark back in Trottingham…” Apple Bloom was a bit stunned. She thought that everypony celebrated Nightmare Night when it rolled around. That’s when she came up with an idea. “If ya never celebrated it before, then ya need to this year! Ya can go Nightmare Nighting with us!” “What’s Nightmare Nighting?” He asked her. “It’s when we go door to door all over Ponyville in our costumes and get candy!” Her excitement started to grow just talking about it. “Then we’ll head over to the Nightmare Night Festival an’ play games like apple bobbin’, spider throwin’, an’ pumpkin catapultin’!” Even though these games were all new for him, Pipsqueak did think they sounded fun, even if the spider throwing game made him a bit hesitant. The whole going door to door getting candy thing had him excited the most. Who doesn’t like free candy? “And there’s gonna be dancing and costume contests!” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “Not to mention some awesome pranks!” Scootaloo grinned. “Nightmare Night is the best night of the year for pranks!” “… If my mum and dad are okay with it… then maybe I’ll go.” He said with a small smile. “Maybe my sis can make you a costume!” Sweetie Belle suggested. “She made mine last week! I’m gonna be a vampire!” “Ah got some monster make-up!” Apple Bloom said. “I’m gonna be that monster bride character!” “I’m gonna paint myself blue and…” Scootaloo suddenly stopped. “No… my parents told me I couldn’t do that… I dunno what I’m gonna be this year.” “Well, it’s a shame that Pinkie Pie is goin’ as a chicken this year…” Apple Bloom started to tease. “That woulda been perfect for ya!” “Ooh! Ooh!” Sweetie Belle immediately joined in. “Maybe she can be her chick!” “I’m not going as a chicken!” Scootaloo growled out. Pipsqueak remembered his days in Trottingham. His parents placed him under a strict curfew and rarely was he allowed out of the house after the sun went down. Not to mention that the ponies of Trottingham never did hold a festival for Nightmare Night so he and his family had no real reason to celebrate it. He did wonder for a moment if Patch ever knew about it. But after what he’d heard from the crusaders, he admitted that he was starting to look forward to it. Perhaps even excited. Plus, ever since moving to Ponyville, his parents had loosened up on the curfew. They had once explained to him that since Ponyville was much so smaller than Trottingham, it would be much safer. “Maybe I should go as that dragon that was holed up in that mountain!” Scootaloo proposed. “Or how about one of the parasprites that devoured half the town!” Sweetie Belle said to her. “Why not a Smarty Pants doll? That would be pretty scary!” Apple Bloom added. “Scary for me! The entire town would be fighting themselves just get near me!” Maybe his parents were mistaken.