It was morning. The sun rose up from the horizon, illuminating everything below it. It was sure to be a nice day for the ponies of Ponyville to go out and about. It would be for one colt.
North Compass was a brown unicorn colt with his mane and tail coloured both blue and green. He has a cutie mark of a compass used for hiking. He had it two years ago when he went hiking with his old friends in scouts back when he lived in Canterlot. He remembered how he enjoyed his first hike and the most amazing feeling he felt when his mark appeared after he helped his Patrol Leader (1) with some given grid references to mark the checkpoints on their map and went on their hike flawlessly. North Compass enjoyed his time scouting back in Canterlot for two years, but he had to move to Ponyville after his dad opened a bookshop there. He was sad to leave his friends behind, but he cannot wait to make some new friends here. He wondered if they need someone good at hiking like him.
“North, honey! It’s time to get up,” a sweet melodious voice of his mother called. North sat up, looking at the door opening to reveal a crimson-coated unicorn mare with blue coloured mane and tail. “Ah, you’re awake. Good morning!” said the mare.
“Morning, Mum!” North replied happily.
“Are you excited to meet your new friends here?” North’s mum asked, with a happy grin on her muzzle.
“Sure! I can’t wait to show them my skills!” North replied.
“Then come out of the bed now, dear. I’m making you breakfast, then we will go and meet the Group Leader for your joining the Ponyville Scout Group,” said his mum and she left to prepare her son oatmeal cereals.
North Compass happily jumped out of his bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up for the day. While he was brushing his teeth, he imagined what would his Patrol would be like. Would there be fillies with him or just colts? Would there be other unicorns with him, or would he be the only unicorn in his Patrol? Would there even be a griffin, like when he was back in Canterlot? Or a deer? Or a zebra? Questions flew in his head like an army of Roaman Pegasi legionaries in his favourite comic series, except they weren't being pummelled by a short and blond earth pony and his bigger friend (2).
He went downstairs to the kitchen to find his father reading a newspaper and a bowl of his favourite oatmeal cereal ready for him to eat. The light green-coated unicorn stallion with canary yellow mane and tail looked up from the daily newspaper he was reading to look at North Compass.
“So how are you today, son?” North’s dad asked.
“I’m OK, Dad! Thanks!” chirped North.
“Do you think that you will have fun scouting in Ponyville?” asked North’s dad.
“Yes. Why?” North replied while he ate his cereal.
“You were a little reluctant when we moved here. I just thought that you didn't like it here,” his dad answered.
North’s mother came to the table to join in the breakfast and she gave her husband an annoyed look. “Come on Spell Book, you know it was because he is leaving his friends back in Canterlot,” chided North’s mum. “Besides, he is looking forward to making new friends here in Ponyville. He had told me.”
“Ah! That’s good then,” replied Spell Book with a smile. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a cute filly with you this time,” he commented mischievously.
“Daaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!” whined North Compass with a growing blush on his face. He chuckled a little when he saw his mother gently slapping his dad’s shoulder.
“Oh stop teasing him, Spell,” chided North’s mum with a mock angry look.
“Come on, Melody. You know I'm only trying to make him less shy to fillies,” Spell defended himself with a mock pained expression.
“That is very rich of you to say, Mister Spell Book. I seem to remember you not even looking at me in the eyes and mumbling in gibberish when we were dating,” Melody replied mischievously.
“Fine, you win,” grumbled Spell Book. North couldn't help it. He almost choked on his cereal and laughed while coughing. Spell looked at the clock on the kitchen wall and yelped when he saw that it was eight past ten. “Yikes! Look at the time, I'm late already! Sorry hon, but I have to go to work now. The shop should have been opened ten minutes ago!” Spell said hurriedly. He got up, pecked Melody and ran to the front door.
After the remaining ponies heard the front door closing, Melody turned to her son. “Now North, after you finish with your breakfast we will go to the Ponyville Scout HQ (3). Their leader told us to meet him there in half an hour,” Melody told him.
“OK, Mum,” North replied, and the continued eating his cereal.
***
Half an hour later, the new colt and his mother walked in the streets of Ponyville receiving greetings and welcomes from the locals. One pink mare in particular invited them to a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party with Melody accepting it with a fearful smile while pushing her son away from the strange mare. They continued on walking with Melody muttering about unattended hyperactive ponies (4) until they reached a medium sized building.
It had two floors, the ground floor which they saw is an adventure shop stocked with tents, canvases, cutlery, mess tins, hurricane lamps, camping stoves, torches, camping hats, maps, hiking shoes, raincoats, and books detailing about hiking, uses of maps, ropes, first-aid and camping. The floor above had the Scout Leader’s office and the HQ for the Ponyville Scout Group.
When Melody and North Compass climbed up the stairs and arrived in front of the Scout Leader’s office, they knocked the door. A “Come In!” was heard, and the mother and son immediately entered the office. A grey pegasus with a white mane met their eyes. He looked young, not much older than North’s father. He wore a yellow scarf with red and blue stripes. His cutie mark is a tent and two ropes knotted together in a figure of eight shape (5) under it. He smiled when he motioned them to get seated.
“Hello, my name is Swift Sky. I am this group’s Scout Leader,” said the pegasus joyously. He leaned forward to give them a hoof shake with his left hoof and sat down again. “Now, am I to understand that young North Compass, nice name by the way, wishes to join our group?”
“Yes you did. He was a member of the 1st Canterlot Scout Group for two years and since we have moved from Canterlot to Ponyville, he can’t keep attending their meetings and he wants to stay active in scouting. So we decided that North could join Ponyville’s scouts,” answered Melody.
“Of course. He will have as much fun here as he did back in Canterlot, I can promise you that,” Swift replied with a thoughtful expression. “What needs to be done is the group conversion. He will attend our meetings for three months before he will change his scarf.”
“We’ll remember that. So, when is his first meeting?” asked Melody.
“Our next activity will be tomorrow at nine o'clock. Here, I have a copy of this month’s circular,” Swift answered. He opened his desk drawer and got out a parchment with the activities, their dates and more information about said activities written on it. He gave the parchment to North Compass. “So, I am looking forward to see you tomorrow, North. You will have fun with us as much as you did with your last group. Good day!”
Melody and North Compass replied their thanks and greetings to the Scout Leader and went outside. Melody looked at her son with a smile. “You will have fun tomorrow now, wouldn't you?”
North looked back at his mum with a grin. “Yes mum, I will.”
Author's Note
A Patrol in Scouting is a small group of members in a Troop. Troop are scouts in the age of 10-15 years.
Anyone who sees the reference gets a cookie.
A place for scouts to meet is usually called a headquarters, HQ for short.
Remember, they still don't know Pinkie Pie yet.
A Reef Knot.
It was morning. The sun rose up from the horizon, illuminating everything below it. North was already awake and getting his scarf ready to roll and be worn. It was coloured royal blue with a yellow stripe on the edge and it also had a simple picture of a triangular shaped mountain right above the scarf’s wide corner. It is the scarf of his last Scout Group. He also brought out his green cap to wear in his first meeting with the Ponyville scouts. When he looked at the circular, he noted that today’s meeting and activity was about knots. Personally, he absolutely dreaded his first meeting would have anything to do with knots. If there was anything he would have definitely never get a cutie mark with, it would be knots. What would anypony think of him if they saw him making a mess of himself with knots?
“North! Have you gotten yourself ready yet?” came a call from his mother.
“Almost there, Mum! Just need to roll and wear the scarf,” North called back. He looked back at his scarf and, using his magic and his mouth, started to roll it. After he finished, he put his rolled up scarf around his neck and bound it together with a woggle.
Afterwards, he opened his saddlebags and started packing several things he needed for today’s meeting and some extra stuff just in case he needed them.
He went downstairs afterwards, with his cap, scarf and saddlebags on. “OK, Mum. I’m ready,” North said with a smile.
***
North and his mother Melody walked towards the HQ. They could already hear sounds of talking and chattering and shouting coming from the first floor. They went up the stairs and entered the HQ. Their eyes found a herd of fillies and colts around North’s age. He recognised most from Ponyville, but he also saw some that he never saw. Probably from a neighbouring town or village. He saw that there are two leaders in this HQ, including Swift Sky. The other leader was a magenta coated earth pony with two shades of pink coloured mane and tail and had a cutie mark of three smiling flowers. She was talking to three sheepish looking fillies and currently had a stern look on her face.
Swift Sky saw North and Melody arriving, smiled and came towards them. “Hello again, North! How are you today?” Swift asked happily.
“I’m fine, thanks!” North replied with a smile of his own.
“I’m going back home now, sweetie,” Melody told her son while they nuzzled. “At what time will today’s meeting be over?” she asked Swift.
“At noon, ma’am. You can pick him up at that time,” Swift told her.
“OK, mister Sky, I will be here for him at noon,” Melody replied. “Have fun now, North,” she told North before she left.
“Alright, now I don’t know if you have went to school here already, but if you haven’t yet then let me introduce you to my assistant leader who is also the local school teacher, Miss Cheerilee,” said Swift. As Swift and North went nearer to the magenta mare, they heard what she was telling the fillies in front of her.
“... I don’t care if it might give you three any cutie marks, that place is very dangerous and out of bounds to any colt and filly. You could get yourselves injured or worse if you all went there. Now, have I made myself clear?” the mare scolded to the fillies.
“Yes, Miss Cheerilee,” the fillies said sombrely, somewhat sounding as if they had recited it countless times.
“Good. Let’s hope you three won’t try anything more reckless just like what you wanted to do,” Cheerilee told them, sounding relieved. She turned around and saw Swift Sky and North Compass. “Oh hello there! Are you new here?” she said happily.
“Cheerilee, this is North Compass. He just moved here from Canterlot and wants to be part of our group. North, this is your other leader Cheerilee,” Swift told them.
“Nice to meet you, miss,” North greeted with a smile.
“I hope you will enjoy your time with us. We will going to have some fun together,” replied Cheerilee with a smile of her own. “Now, your Patrol will be the Wolf Patrol. You will be with these three fillies and that colt over there.” She pointed at the same fillies that she had only recenly scolded and a smaller colt.
The fillies were a yellow earth pony with a red mane, a white unicorn with a lilac and very light pink mane and an orange pegasus with a purple mane. The colt was a white earth pony who also brown spots on his coat with a dark brown mane. What North also noticed is that none of them had cutie marks.
Oh well, at least I’m not going to be the only colt in my Patrol, thought North as he went at them. The Patrol looked up when they saw him arrive.
“Hey, I never seen ya before. You new here?” the yellow filly asked.
“Yeah, I just moved here from Canterlot the day before yesterday. I’m North Compass,” North said while offering his hoof.
“Well howdy y’all, I’m Apple Bloom!” the filly greeted enthusiastically while shaking North’s hoof very violently, hurting his poor hoof. “Welcome ta Ponyville an’ the Wolf Patrol! I’m the Patrol Leader.” She let go his hoof, much to North’s relief, and pointed at the orange pegasus. “This is our Assistant Patrol Leader, Scootaloo.”
“’Sup,” the filly named Scootaloo said to North.
Apple Bloom then pointed at the white unicorn. “This is Sweetie Belle.”
“Hiya,” greeted Sweetie Belle.
Apple Bloom then pointed at the only colt besides North. “And las’, but not least, Pipsqueak.”
“’Ello,” said Pipsqueak.
Apple Bloom continued. “An’ together, now with you as our newest member, we make the best Patrol in Ponyville,” she paused, all members of the Wolf Patrol except North took a deep breath and yelled, “THE WOLF PATROL!” After their yell, there was a loud silence. Everypony in the room was staring at them in deadpan expression until they continued on their conversation. The four who yelled blushed.
“I still don’t think that yelling was really necessary,” Pip told Apple Bloom.
“Oh come on, they’re just jealous on how awesome we are!” Scootaloo told him.
“Pipsqueak does have a point though. I think we have accidentally deafened North Compass here,” said Sweetie Belle, looking at North worryingly. Poor North Compass was rubbing his ears muttering over how he might need hearing aids if it was one decibel louder.
“OK, Troop! Now, as you all know today we are going to practice on making knots,” Swift Sky called to everypony in the room. “You should all know by now that knots can be useful for many things. They can help you build some temporary structures, they can help binding things together, you can make designs with them. But most important of all, they can also save your lives. Now, we can start again with the basics to refresh our memories. Let’s start off with the Reef Knot. Now this is one of the simplest knots, and I am sure most of you know how to tie it by now. Let’s revise it, imagine that the left end is the snake and the right end is the branch. Now first, the snake moves under the branch like this,” he moved the left end of the rope under the right end. “Then, the snake moves under the branch again like this,” he moved the same end under the unmoved end. “And you have the reef knot.” North groaned as he messed up the knot, again.
“C’mon, North. It’s easy! Look!” said Apple Bloom. She put the left end under the right end and again as if it is as natural as breathing.
“I was never good at knots,” grumbled North as he messed up his knot again.
“Tell me about it. Apple Bloom just manages to make it look easier than it really is,” Scootaloo groaned as she, for some strange reason that North couldn’t fathom, managed to tie herself up with her rope.
“It’s really not that hard once you know how to do it,” said Pipsqueak after finishing his third reef knot.
“Yeah, but it’s so boring! I wish that Cheerilee had let us go tracking and rock-climbing in the Ghastly Gorge!” Scootaloo replied while trying to set herself free from the evil clutches of her rope.
“OK, now I know you will become annoyed for revising very simple knots. By now you all should know about the Thumb Knot...” Swift continued his lecture while the Wolf Patrol conversed casually.
“Don’t tell me you really trying to go to the Gastly Gorge,” North told them deadpanned.
“It was actually Scootaloo’s idea,” said Sweetie Belle as she struggled on doing her Sheet Bend.
“Why? Rainbow Dash went there herself!” exclaimed Scootaloo, somehow getting tied up again.
“Who’s Rainbow Dash?” asked North as he started trying to free Scootaloo. “Is she your sister?”
“I wish. Come on, you stupid rope! Gerrof me!” Scootaloo angrily shouted. She had gotten herself free again, sighing with relief. “Thanks, North. I really hate ropes!”
“You’re welcome! If I haven’t already got my cutie mark, I would definitely not get one with knots myself,” said North.
“Hey, now I’ve realised! Ya have a cutie mark!” exclaimed Apple Bloom excitedly.
“Yeah! Got it after finding out that I’m very good in hiking,” North replied, proudly showing his cutie mark. “I hope I will be useful.”
“Ya will, North. Welcome to the Wolf Patrol, by the way,” Apple Bloom told him with a smile.
Author's Note
Remember, things could be a little different to what you are used to due to different countries.
As always, ask me things if you want them explained. As long as you give me feedback, of course. ;)