//------------------------------// // 1st Chapter // Story: Knew (Canoe) Jubilee // by Uncle Knot //------------------------------// “It was a dark and stormy night.” I was reading my comic book. I like reading. Especially when I have to sit on a train going to a new home, it breaks the clickity clack of the locomotive galloping down the rails. I didn’t want to leave my home in Dodge Junction, but my mom had decided for me. I needed to go away from the ranch because of my allergy. This was the worse, of all things to be allergic to – cherries. I would break out in a rash that sometimes infected my eyes. They would get all itchy and leak mucus. Then my nose would start running, and I’d snort it back into my throat which would then get sore. Why couldn’t mom come with me? Why did I have to leave my brothers and sisters? “Stupid allergy, stupid cherry trees” I muttered. Who was this Aunt Carrot I found myself coming to live with? “Ponyville, ug” The conductor chipped in, “Ponyville next stop” as the train began its slow deceleration. I didn’t want to look out the window, but I was curious. Rolling hills with apple trees, two story houses, everything was so much greener. So I was here, better grab my bag and trot toward the door. “Goshdarnit”, I couldn’t reach it. I’m too small. I guess the conductor noticed as he reached over me and pulled my sack down. It was nice of him to carry the bag over to the door for me, just as the train stopped. “Thanks” I said as he tossed the satchel onto the platform, and I think he was thinking of tossing me, so I scooted out fast. On the platform were few others, but I spotted my aunt instantly. Yeah, I had never met here before, but that green mane really stood out. She was talking to another pony, who looked just like her, except she had orange hair. They both approached me smiling. “Auntie Carrot?” “Yes” they replied in chorus. My confusion grew and I guess they noticed. “Hello Canoe, I’m your aunt Julienne Carrot” said the green mane, “and this is my sister Caroline”. “Oh” was all I could say. “Caroline is here to carry your bags back to my house while we hurry over to the school house to get you registered.” “Oh” this was getting worse. No slack, off to school on my first day in town. I suddenly had an image that my aunts would throw me into a pond of alligators to teach me to swim. Good thing I already know how to swim. Aunt Julienne and I trotted off to the school house while Aunt Caroline said her goodbyes and galloped into town. The school house was kind of nice. They had a playground! This might not be so bad. I cautiously followed my Aunt into the school room. The little ponies were watching what the teacher was writing on the board. She stopped and turned toward us, the little ponies also stared at us. The teacher addressed me, “Welcome to our class Canoe, I’m Miss Cherrilee.” Clearly Aunt Julienne and Miss Cherrilee had already registered me some other day. My doom was sealed. “I’ll be back to get you after school” said Aunt Julienne. She stooped down to me, hesitated, and then gave me a quick hug. I could hear some pony snicker in the class. “Class” said the teacher, “please welcome Canoe Jubilee”. “Canoe, will you take the seat in the middle of the front row today. Apple Bloom, who normally sits there didn’t come to school today. I’ll have a desk for you tomorrow.” Sitting in the front row may not be bad. The two ponies to my either side were cute and they had their cutie marks. Oh, older mares, not bad at all. The one on my left had some type of crown as a cutie mark. The one on my right had a spoon for a cutie mark, and nice glasses. I hope she likes to read like I do. Miss Cherrilee was quizzing the students on their spelling. One in the back row she called “Snails” was having a difficult time spelling deluxe “deluxe, d-e-e-l-u-x, deluxe”. I think I did these spelling words last year. The teacher said to me, “since you probably didn’t know you would be taking a quiz today, I’ll give you an easy word. Can you spell ‘apple’? “Mmm, apple, r-e-d-d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s, apple”. My classmates were snickering. I didn’t know if they knew how to spell red delicious or if they were laughing at me because I had started spelling apple with an ‘r’. Miss Cherrilee had a stunned look on her face which slid into a smile. “Very good Canoe. I will not underestimate you again, although I sometimes spell apple, m-a-c-i-n-t-o-s-h.” I think I like Miss Cherrilee. She could have come down hard on me. I could definitely hear that some of my class mates were not catching our little joke. We did math after the spelling quiz. Simple addition and subtraction, were my classmates so far behind me that we don’t do multiplication and division? I think there will be times when class work will be very boring. After school, Miss Cherrilee insured that my classmates introduced themselves to me. My classmates probably hated me because of this. I made it a point to remember Diamond Tiara and especially Silver Spoon. There was also Snails and his friend Snips, Featherweight, Scootaloo and Sweetie Bell, and some others. They were all quick to leave the school and trot home. I stood in front of the door with Miss Cherrilee. She asked “do you know your way home? I think your Aunt Julienne may be late getting here.” “No, I haven’t even been there yet”. “I have some work to do. You can play in the playground for now. If your aunt isn’t back by the time I am done, I’ll show you the way there.” She went back inside to her desk. I stood outside the school house looking down the road for my aunt, either aunt. It is not that the playground wasn’t nice. It is nice; I just didn’t feel like playing in an empty playground. I eventually found myself sitting on the swing, not that I was swinging, or anything. I just was sitting thinking about being away from home, being here, hating my allergy. “Hey you! Swings are for swinging” came a shout from above. Looking up, there was a gray pegasus with a blonde mane, hovering. She dropped down toward me saying, “I’m Derpy or Ditsy, or you can call me either.” I couldn’t help but smile, “Hello Either, how are you? My name is Canoe.” “No, I’m Ditsy or Derpy, and you’re Aunt Julienne, and I am suppose to take you to your nephew”, she said dropping down to the ground. At this point, Miss Cherrilee came outside. She said, “Hi Derpy, is anything wrong?” “It’s Ditsy, and no, nothing’s wrong. Her nephew Canoe sent me here to fetch her Uncle Julienne.” “Okay,” I said “I think I better go with her.” “Well” said Miss Cherrilee, “but remember Ditsy, 'Uncle' Canoe cannot fly.” “WHAT ARE you teaching these PONIES? Of course he can’t fly. He is an EARTH pony and MY NAME IS DERPY!” I lead the way for the gray pegasus, away from the school house and the flabbergasted teacher. I wonder if taking Derpy away earns me extra credit with Miss Cherrilee? Derpy and I trotted toward the largest group of buildings, I was leading. Something about my companion with the lazy eye convinced me that she would not get me to where I wanted to go. So this was my excuse to do a little exploring. She tagged along as if I knew where I was suppose to go, and this worked well for me. From my comic books I had learned that when exploring a maze, always turn right or left and eventually you will find the exit. I turned left. It was one of the wider streets with nice little shops along the sides. Oddly though, there appear to be a big tree in the street up ahead. A big tree with windows, and a door. “What is that?” I asked. “That’s the librarian, Spike” said Derpy “So that’s the library and Spike is the librarian”. “No silly”, interrupted another pony “Spike is the dragon”. “Hi Pinky” said Derpy. “DRAGON?!” I exclaimed. “Hello” said the pink cotton colored candy pony with the red mane. “Who’s your friend?” directing her comment toward Derpy. “I’m Canoe, but wait you keep a dragon in your library?” said I “Don’t dragons breath fire and burn things down? Isn’t that dangerous, especially in a library?” “No silly”, said Pinky “let me show you to Twilight and her dragon.” As we walked up to the red door, I had to ask “Is Twilight the dragon keeper?” “You are being so silly, Canoe. Wait and see and we will have to have a very silly party to welcome you.” Said Pinky, knocking the door open and strolling into the tree house. Inside I came face to face and eye to eye with the smallest pink dragon I had ever seen. Well, actually, I have never seen a dragon before so Spike is my first dragon. Someone was talking to me, but I was just too stunned to look away. “So you are Derby’s friend? I’m Twilight Sparkle” said the purple pony at the edge of my vision. “Hi, I’m Spike” said the dragon with the big teeth-y smile starring into my eyes.