A cold gust of wind blew past my head as I walked through the midday Friday streets. I was on my way to the schoolhouse like the school board had told me to on Monday. I held a smile on my face in excitement.
As I walked, I walked in silence as I was walking alone. Twilight, Spike, and Stonehenge were still at home. Twilight had figured that, due to me becoming more familiar with Ponyville, I would be fine to walk by myself at least for today. Although after I was done with introducing myself, I was to meet her and Pinkie Pie at Sugar Cube Corner.
Looking around, I watched the other ponies walk around me. Most of them wore scarves or wool hats, and some even had both, but no more than that. Looking down at myself, I had a jacket, gloves, a scarf, and a wool hat on. Looking up, I shrugged my shoulder as I continued down the path. I realized that they had a layer of fur that more than likely helped insulate them from the cold.
As I thought about fur, I remembered my dream where I was covered head to toe in that white peach fuzz and the little nub in my head. Raising my hand to my forehead, I rubbed it, feeling for any irregularities, but I felt nothing out of the ordinary.
Putting my hand back down, I felt a strong gust of wind blow past my head, causing me to shiver as I yelped in surprise. "Sweet mother of pumpkin pie."
I rubbed my hands together as I tried my best to warm them through friction. Sighing, I lowered my hands from my face as the schoolhouse started to come into view. I started walking faster as butterflies flew inside my stomach, making me giddy.
As I approached, I noticed that the outside of the school had fillies and colts running around, playing in the snow, and generally having fun. I realized that they were on recess break, considering that it was nearly noon. As I approached, I saw Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, and an orange filly with purple hair running around the schoolyard, chasing each other. A pink filly and a silver filly watched in mild disgust.
As I walked closer, some of the colts and fillies stopped playing and turned to look at me with a decent amount of surprise. As I approached, the colts and fillies stopped playing and began to watch me. By the time I was on the pathway that led up to the front entrance, nearly all, save for Sweetie Bell and Apple Bloom, were standing on their hind legs, staring at me. As I continued to walk up the path, I could hear the colts and fillies whispering to each other as I pretended not to hear.
"Whoa, is that a human?" an Earth Pony filly with light purple and dark blue hair asked.
"Yeah… it is," a blue earth pony colt with dark blue hair said before turning to the others. "What is a human doing at school?"
"Isn't that the human that lives with Twilight Sparkle?" a light blue unicorn filly with purple hair asked.
"Yeah, his name is Jack, and he does live with Twilight," Apple Bloom said as the pink filly with a tiara on her head turned to look at her.
"How do YOU know the human's name?" the pink filly asked in a condescending tone.
"Well, muh' big sister is friends with Twilight. That plus Twilight, Spike, Jack, and one of the biggest pebble golems I've ever had done seen came over to the farm to help with the harvest last week," Apple Bloom said as she jumped up on the fence.
"Yeah, and Rarity said she made a suit for him last week. But she wouldn't tell me why," Sweetie Bell added.
As the fillies and colts continued to whisper with each other, I arrived at the front door and pushed it open. Once the door was open, I stepped into the warm interior of the school and took in my surroundings. Inside was a large single-room classroom with school desks in the middle. On the sides of the room were shelves of books, larger tables, and an area for personal belongings. In the front of the room was a large chalkboard and a desk with a familiar pink Earth Pony looking over papers. Walking over, she raised her head and gave me a smile.
"Jack, you're just in time," Cheerilee said as she stood up from her desk. "Recess is almost over. The fillies and colts will be coming back inside here in five minutes."
"Yeah, I saw them on the way in. They seemed surprised that I was here. They were all lined up on the fence, staring at me," I said with a light chuckle.
"Ah, young ones and their lack of social awareness," Cheerilee said with a sigh before turning back to me. "So, how would you like to handle this? Would you like me to introduce you, or would you like to?"
"Hmm… I think it would be better for you to introduce me. It is a big shock to be getting another teacher, let alone a human one, so if it's coming from someone they know, it would be a bit better. Then, after that, I can come up and answer some of their questions on the matter. After that, I can get out of your hair until Monday," I responded.
"Hmm, you're probably right. Best to ease them in," Cheerilee said as she pointed to her desk. "Take a seat at my desk, Jack, and I'll go and round them up from recess."
"Sure," I said as I walked over to the desk and took a seat.
Cheerilee walked over to the door and wrapped a scarf around her neck before stepping out into the snow-covered schoolyard. I watched through the windows as she stood near the door and mouthed something that I was not able to make out. When Cheerilee finished what little fillies and colts I could see through, the window started to walk slowly toward the door.
The knob to the front door wiggled before it was pushed open as the colts and fillies, one by one, started to make their way inside. As they entered, most of them stared at me sitting at Cheerilee's desk as they made their way to their respective desks. I sat there and watched as they continued to pour into the room as they all whispered amongst themselves about my presence.
As the final filly entered the room, Cheerilee entered behind her, took off her scarf, and closed the door. Trotting to the front of the classroom, she stood in front of the chalkboard and watched over the class as they continued to whisper. Cheerilee turned her head to me and nodded, which I returned as she turned back to the class and cleared her throat in an attempt to gain their attention.
"If I could have your attention, my lovely students," Cheerilee said as the whispers died down, and all the fillies and colts turned to look at her. "Good. Now that I have all your attention, I bet most of you are curious as to what a human is doing in our classroom?"
Cheerilee paused for a moment to look around the classroom at the faces of the kids before continuing.
"Well, I have a very special announcement for all of you. Starting Monday this human…" Cheerilee said as she gestured to me. "… Jack Marrow will officially be joining me as your other teacher."
The room fell silent as the young colts and fillies stared between Cheerilee and me with deadpan expressions. After about a good minute of them staring between Cheerilee and me, the class took in a simultaneous deep breath. As they took their breath, Cheerilee covered her ears with her hooves. By the time I figured out what was about to happen and tried to prepare, it was too late.
"WHAT!?" the classroom yelled in unison at the top of their lungs.
I could have sworn I was pushed back slightly from their noise alone. Raising my hands, I rubbed my ringing ears in an attempt to calm the newly forming tinnitus. As I rubbed my ears, Cheerilee lowered her hooves from hers as she turned to look at the class, who all had their hooves raised in the air, ready to ask questions.
"Hmm. I see you all have questions, and we will get to them. However, I would like Jack to step up and introduce himself to you all and answer some of your questions," Cheerilee said as she turned to look at me.
As the hooves of the colts and fillies started to lower back down to their desk, Cheerilee and I began to swap places. I stood up from the desk as she walked back to it. As I reached the front of the class, I turned my attention to all the students who were leaning forward in their seats with bated breaths, waiting for me to introduce myself.
"Hello, everyone. I am, as Miss Cheerilee said, Jack Marrow…" I said as I clapped my hands together. "… and I will be joining Miss Cheerilee in assisting and teaching all of you. I'm sure that all, if not most of you, have questions for me, and this will give me a chance to learn names while I'm at it. Now, who has a question for me?"
In an instant, all of the hooves shot up as I chuckled to myself. Looking around the classroom, my eyes landed on a dark yellow filly with very light, nearly white, yellow hair. Pointing to the filly, she lowered her hoof.
"Hello, I'm Sunny Daze. My question is, how long have you been in Equestria? Sunny Daze asked.
I brought my hand to my chin as I thought and tried to remember. "Hmm… if I remember correctly, I have been here for a little over three weeks." I believe Monday will be my first total month in Equestria. All right, next question."
Looking around the room once more, my eyes landed on the blue unicorn filly with purple hair I had seen outside. Pointing at her, she leaned forward on her desk as she spoke.
"My name is Liza Doolots. You have been here for a month, right? What made you want to be a teacher so quickly?" Liza Doolots asked.
"Ah, that one is simple to answer. Truth be told, I was learning to become a teacher before I arrived in Equestria. It just happens that I found myself in this vibrant land and met Cheerilee, who pointed me in the right direction," I responded, giving a sheepish smile before looking around the room again. "Alright…next… question."
My eyes landed on a white pegasus filly with very light blue hair. Pointing to her, she lowered her hoof and spoke.
"I'm Cotton Cloudy, and why don't you live with the other humans in Canterlot?" Cotton Cloudy asked.
"The short answer is that I like it here and enjoy the individuals that live here…" I responded before pausing for a moment before continuing. "… The long answer is 'cause I live here in Ponyville with my friends, Twilight Sparkle and her adopted little brother, Spike. But I will say I have seen at least the outside of the human settlement and met a human. Although meeting the human didn't go… the best. Next question."
An orange earth pony colt with dark blue hair was the first to raise his hoof and wave it with energy. Pointing to him, he nearly jumped off his seat as he spoke.
"I'm First Base, and I was wondering. I've walked by the Golden Oaks library a few times, and I've seen this big rock thing sitting in front of it. What is that?" First Base asked.
"Oh, that is Stonehenge, my pebble golem. He can't fit inside the library, so we built him some protection from the sun and other elements," I responded. "Okay, next question."
Looking around the room, my eyes landed on a trembling beige earth pony filly with purple braided hair. She was shaking as she slowly raised her hoof. As I pointed to her, she quickly brought it back down and hid behind her desk slightly.
"M-M-My name is Boysenberry…" Boysenberry spoke softly and shyly as she hid behind her desk. "… A-And I was wondering what the human world is like?"
"Well, Boysenberry, my world shares a few similarities with this one but is much more different. Firstly, humans are the smartest thing that live there cause we are the only ones. Secondly, there are a lot more of us than there are here. Here, there are only one thousand humans, while there are nearly seven billion in my world. The one thing that has remained the same is the landscape, with its mountains and forest, but it is a tad more colorful here. But the biggest thing was no magic of any kind." I said as the colts and fillies' mouths dropped.
I was about to continue when the orange Pegasus filly, who had been playing with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, blurted out, "No magic!?" How did you guys get things done?"
Letting out a chuckle, I responded to the orange filly, "Well, we used our minds and created things that helped us in our lives. We built machines that allowed us to soar in the sky. Or metal chariots that pulled themselves almost like trains but without the restrictions of rails. We could even talk to each other from long distances with a small device that we could fit in just our pocket. That is only a small amount. But I must say, you forgot to tell me your name, miss."
The little orange pegasus filly gave me a sheepish smile before speaking, "Oh, sorry about that. My name is Scootaloo."
I was about to start looking for my next question when Cheerilee came up next to me and spoke to the class, "All right, everypony, we have time for one more question before we have to get back to learning. Jack, pick one more question."
"Okay," I said as I looked around the room before my eyes landed on the pink Earth Pony filly with purple and white hair, wearing a tiara. Pointing at her, I spoke, "Ah, you miss?"
"Yes, well, my name is Diamond Tiara, and I have just been dying to know. Why do you look like that? I mean, my Daddy has taken me to see other humans before, and you look different compared to them. Why is that, hmm?" Diamond Tiara asked with a hint of smugness in her voice, almost like she was testing the waters.
"Diamond Tiara! "That is a highly inappropriate question," Cheerilee said sternly.
I turned to look at Cheerilee and whispered to her, "It's fine. It was only a matter of time before one of them asked me." Cheerilee gave me a shrug as I turned back to Diamond Tiara. "She is right, but it's better if I say it now for all of you, so none of you feel awkward or uncomfortable about it. I actually used to look 'normal' before arriving in Equestria. But my skin and hair changed due to magic."
"Woah," the class said in unison once more.
As I finished speaking, Cheerilee stepped beside me and began to speak, "All right, everypony, that's all we have time for today. Please say goodbye to Mr. Jack."
"Goodbye, Mr. Jack," most of the class said as I gave them all a wave.
"Goodbye, everyone. See you all on Monday," I said as I started to walk toward the door.
Arriving at the door, I turned the knob before stepping out of the warm classroom and into the cold outside air. Closing the door behind me, I started walking down the path and onto the street, making my way to Sugar Cube Corner.
"Wow, it's freezing," I said to myself.
Walking down the street, I rubbed my hands together in an attempt to preserve warmth. The streets were a tad bit Busier than before but nothing out of the ordinary for this time of day. As I continued walking, I entered the town square, just west of the market.
Both guards and regular ponies walked around the square. The guards walked aimlessly around the square, both entering and exiting the marketplace or leaving the square to explore the side streets. The regular ponies appeared to be walking around, doing their normal daily activities.
Turning to the market, I knew going through it was the quickest way to get to Sugar Cube Corner. Walking down the town square street, I entered the marketplace and saw there was no Applejack today. I had not seen her on my way to the schoolhouse. Shrugging my shoulders, I figured it might be because of the snow.
Walking through the market, I looked at all the items being sold. Some places remained the same, such as food stands or sanitary products, while others changed daily, with the owner also changing. Sometimes, it would range from jewelry of varying quality to puppets and toy stands, or even weird-looking art sculptures that looked like safety hazards for everyone within a 15-foot radius.
"Keep focused, Jack. Don't be drawn in by silver-tongued deals," I said to myself.
Knowing I didn't have the money to buy anything, I kept my head down and tried to avoid the ponies trying to draw me in for a sale. Bobbing and weaving through the other ponies, I quickly exited on the other side of the market and continued on my way to Sugar Cube Corner.
"It should be… Ah, there's the right street," I said to myself, remembering the side road I had to take.
Walking down the narrow and winding road, which was sandwiched between two homes, it wasn't long before I came upon a large street that led to both Sugar Cube Corner and the tree house. I could even see Sugar Cube Corner in the distance with all its gingerbread glory, with the snow on top acting as extra frosting.
Quickly walking down, the final street in an attempt to escape the cold. The smell of freshly baked goods and sweets drifted through the dry, cold air, and it wasn't long before I was finally at the doorsteps of the gingerbread bakery.
Climbing the stairs, I entered the warm building and allowed myself to take in all the different scents that my nose would allow me to. Looking around, I saw a yellow stallion, Mr. Cake, running the cash register. I took off my gloves and put them in my coat pocket, then hung my coat up on a rack that had scarves on it. Turning to look at him, he noticed me almost instantly, and a look of nervousness appeared on his face.
Walking up to the cash register, I began speaking with Mr. Cake, "Excuse me. Is Pinkie Pie or Twilight Sparkle here?"
The nervousness did not leave his face as he responded. "Yes, they are both in the…" was all that Mr. Cake could say before a pink mass appeared between us.
"OMC Jackie, you're here," Pinkie Pie said, wrapping her arms around me. "You're just in time. Twilight and I were just about to start making cupcakes… come on, you can help!" Pinkie Pie said as she started to pull on my arm with her hoofs.
I gave Mr. Cake a wary smile as Pinkie Pie dragged me towards the kitchen. The look of nervousness left his face, which was replaced with that of a tired smile. Looking away from Mr. Cake. I watched as Pinkie Pie dragged me to a set of double swinging doors.
As I was dragged inside, I was met with the sight of a quite large and well-equipped kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen was a large counter with a variety of ingredients, mixing equipment, and a cookbook. Standing next to the cookbook reading was Twilight. She was listing ingredients to Pinkie, not realizing that Pinkie had come to get me.
Lastly, we need to cook them at four hundred degrees for 18 minutes, then let them sit for an additional 5 minutes. Did you get all that, Pinkie?" Twilight asked as she waited for a response, but she did not get one. Looking up from her book, she glanced around, realizing she had just read to the ingredients and bowls. "Pinkie?"
Letting out a chuckle, Pinkie Pie started to speak. "Twilight, look at who I found!" Pinkie Pie gave me a shove forward as Twilight turned to look at us.
"What… oh, Jack, you're here," Twilight said, a big smile spreading across her face.
"Yeah, I just got here before Pinkie dragged me back here," I said, turning to look at Pinkie Pie.
"Only a little," Pinkie Pie said as she hopped over to the counter.
"How was it? How did it go?" Twilight asked as she gestured for me to come over.
"It went okay. Cheerilee and I introduced me, and I answered some of the kids' questions. But the real fun doesn't start till Monday. But all in all, a good time," I responded with a slight chuckle as I walked over to the counter.
"That's good to hear," Twilight said, turning to the counter.
"You said that we were making cupcakes, Pinkie?" I asked as I rolled up my sleeves.
"We sure are," Pinkie Pie said as she grabbed one of the bowls and started to pour in some flower. "I'll work on the dry mix; you two work on the liquid mix.
"Sure," I said as I walked over to the liquid ingredients.
"Okay," Twilight said as she moved to stand next to me.
"What's the serving size for the batch?" I asked, looking at Twilight.
"Four times the size, so four times the ingredients," Twilight replied.
"Okay," I said, looking over the cookbook recipe. Upon reviewing the recipe, I noticed that it called for eight eggs to be beaten and mixed thoroughly. "I'll work on the eggs while you work on the milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract."
"Okay. I'm on it," Twilight said, using her magic to lift the ingredients.
I grabbed a bowl, a whisk, and a dozen eggs and brought them closer to me. Opening the carton of eggs, I began breaking them one by one until a total of eight eggs were inside the large bowl. Picking up the whisk, I began to stir the eggs, watching as they formed a solid yellow mass. After about three minutes of whisking, the eggs were fully incorporated, and my forearm was burning from the manual whisking.
"Okay, all done with my part," I said, setting the bowl down.
"Same here," Twilight said as she set her bowl down next to mine.
"Me three," Pinkie Pie said as she raised her bowl of dry ingredients in the air before setting it on the counter. "Okay, let's mix the wet and dry ingredients. Then, we can add the eggs."
With a nod, Twilight lifted her bowl with her magic and started to pour it into Pinkie's dry bowl. As Twilight poured it in, Pinkie mixed the two ingredients together, making sure that each was fully incorporated. Once all of the ingredients were fully mixed together, Twilight set down her bowl as Pinkie Pie pointed to mine.
"Okay, Jackie, your turn. Make sure to pour slowly," Pinkie Pie said.
Grabbing my bowl, I started to pour the eggs into Pinkie's bowl slowly. As I poured, Pinkie made sure to fold the batter over the eggs, allowing the batter to become shiny and glossy from the eggs. Once all the eggs were fully added, we were left with quite a large batch of vanilla cupcake batter.
"Owoo… look at all that yummy batter," Pinkie Pie said as we all gathered around the bowl.
"So how many cupcakes will this make?" I asked as I turned to look at Pinkie Pie.
"The original batch makes 15, and we quadrupled it, so…" Pinkie Pie paused for a moment to think before she pulled two cupcake tins with wrappers already inside out of thin air, blurting out, "sixty."
Leaning over to Twilight, I whispered, "I still want to know how she does that."
Twilight chuckled before whispering in my ear, "I've tried. It's better not to even look for answers."
"Twilight, can you help me pour, please?" Pinkie Pie asked as she put the tins on the counter.
"Yes, I can," Twilight said as she used her magic to lift the bowl.
Slowly but surely, Twilight began pouring the batter into the cupcake tins. Each tin held fifteen slots for the cupcakes, so ultimately, these would be two different batches of cupcakes. As Twilight finished pouring, Pinkie Pie took the two tins, walked them over to a waiting, preheated oven, and placed both tins inside.
Looking at the oven, I spoke aloud, "So what do we do while we wait?"
The moment I asked the question, I was turned around by Pinkie Pie to be met with Twilight and her wearing soldier helmets. "We clean soldier," Pinkie Pie said, as she put an extra helmet on top of my head, as Twilight realized she was also wearing one.
Scrubbing the last tin, I set it on a drying rack as I turned around to see the sight before me. Sixty waiting cupcakes all decorated with frosting that Pinkie Pie had made earlier. Drying my hands, I walked over to Pinkie Pike and Twilight, who were also just staring at the cupcakes.
"So, what do you plan to do with all these, Pinkie?" I asked.
"Well, sell them up front, you silly goose. But as thanks for helping me make them…" Pinkie Pie responded as she walked over to the cupcakes and grabbed two before walking back over to give them to both Twilight and me. "You both get a free one…woo."
Taking the cupcake in hand, I responded to Pinkie Pie, "Thank you, Pinkie."
"We appreciate it, Pinkie," Twilight said, holding the cupcake in her magic.
"It's no prob-lame-o," Pinkie Pie said.
Twilight was the first to unwrap her cupcake and take a bite before letting out a light sigh of approval. "So good. Come on, Jack, let's head home. See you later, Pinkie."
"Bye, Twilight. Bye, Jackie," Pinkie Pie responded as she grabbed a treat box from under the counter.
Walking out of the kitchen, I unwrapped my cupcake and took my first bite. I felt the softness and moisture of the cupcake, and my taste buds were assaulted by its flavor. Walking past the counter, Twilight and I gave Mr. Cake a wave goodbye as I grabbed my coat, and Twilight grabbed a purple scarf. Alternating the cupcake between my hands, I put on my coat and gloves as Twilight, and I exited the gingerbread bakery and into the cold as we went home.