The bell rang.
Island's students scrambled out the door. At the same time, five other ponies came in.
"Hello, may I help you?" asked Island.
The first pony shook Island's hoof. "Hi, Island Skies! I'm Caramel Math. It's so great to have you on our team. Yay! Now, you're probably wondering who they are. That stallion is Bookworthy, the glamorous one is Sunset Mint, the one reading is Feather Inkwell, and the shy mare over there is Lilac Wishes," he said at about a thousand words per second that Island got dizzy and couldn't understand him.
"Uh, hi, Caramel. Hi, everyone," said Island nervously. "So, you guys are the Team 7C I'm supposed to be working with?"
"Yes, we are!" said Lilac Wishes, a Pegasus with long, silky hair. "Welcome!"
Definitely not so shy, Island noted.
"I heard you came from Canterlot Prep. I've always wanted to live in Canterlot! The amour, fashion... what's it like to be living there? I am so jealous of you!" exclaimed Sunset Mint, a unicorn with a high ponytail who wore shiny accessories and top-edge fashion clothes.
Island stared at Sunset. "Actually, I haven't been out much," he said nonchalantly.
Sunset's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. "How could you NOT?!" She shook her head in disbelief, almost whacking Island in the face with her long ponytail.
"It's great to have you, Island," said Feather Inkwell, an Earth pony who wore glasses with black frames and carried the book Equestria's Tale of Two Ponies in her hooves.
"Thanks, I guess," said Island.
"So... since we heard that you were coming today, Caramel got extra excited and hired a substitute to throw a welcome party for you," said Bookworthy, a Pegasus stallion.
Island couldn't believe it. "Did you just tell me he SKIPPED CLASS? To throw a party for me?" Sunset nodded.
"Oh my goodness. If you were at CPA, you would be fired. But thank you, Caramel. It means a lot to me that you stopped and did all this for me, I guess," said Island.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Your party awaits!" Caramel squealed.
Island sighed. He was going to have to adjust to the carefree ways of Ponyville as opposed to the strict, refined, upper-class ways of Canterlot. Island followed his new team to the cafeteria.
When they got to the building, the lights were off. Island couldn't see nor hear a thing; it was pitch-black silence! "Hello? Hello? Caramel? Sunset? Is anypony here?"
A second passed, then...
"SURPRISE!" yelled Caramel. "Welcome to Ponyville Middle, Island Skies! Enjoying your party so far?" Lilac giggled.
Island, still not used to having ponies yell into his eardrums, brushed Caramel aside. "Wow. This is... amazing, I guess," said Island. Caramel cut a piece of cake and handed to him. "Try it! It's chocolate mint cheesecake. Your favorite! I made it myself," he beamed proudly.
Island stared in shock and disbelief. "How did you know my favorite was chocolate mint cheesecake?" he asked suspiciously.
Caramel shrugged. "Just a hunch!" Island shook his head.
All of Team 7C sat down. "So, let's get to know each other," suggested Lilac. "How about we each share our name, the subject we teach and something we enjoy doing?" The team nodded in agreement.
"Ooh! Me! I want to go first!" exclaimed Caramel. "My name is Caramel Math, and I teach math, of course! I love playing jokes and pranks on students and teachers. I can't live without socializing and playing PonyMon Go!"
"Hahaha! He's a ball of energy. Anyways. My name is Lilac Wishes, and I'm the science teacher on the team. I love photography, nature, and singing!" Lilac sang a few notes, and a few birds came to her and perched on her hoof.
Caramel nudged Island. "She's a real princess, yeah? Oh, she still can't get parts of The Mare of the Night aria right."
Lilac heard his comment and glared. "I'm still working on it!"
Feather Inkwell cleared her throat. "Hi, my name is Feather Inkwell, but you can drop the 'feather' part. Just Inkwell is fine. I'm the language arts teacher. As you probably can tell, I love reading," said Inkwell, holding up a book. "Have you ever read The Horseback of Notre Dame? It's amazing. How about The Adventures of Don Draconequus? Disclaimer: Don is nothing like Discord," she explained.
Sunset shook her head. She knew that Inkwell was going to ramble on and on about books she read again. "Inkwell, mind pausing for a bit? Hello, I'm Sunset Mint. I teach special education math and I enjoy fashion, if you couldn't tell," she said with a toss of her mane.
"Don't call her weak. She may be a lady, but she also lifts weights," whispered Lilac. "She's even qualified for the national tournament in Appleloosa!"
Sunset winked. "Yes, yes, I have. Wish it was in Manehattan though."
"Oh! I guess that leaves me," said Bookworthy. "My name is Bookworthy. I teach special education language arts, and I love sports. That's all. Nothing too interesting." He shrugged.
Island started to open up to his new coworkers. These ponies are cool, he thought.
"Hello, my name is Island Skies and I teach social studies. I don't have a lot of hobbies, but I love reading about history and also watching the Pony Wars movies," said Island.
"Oh my gosh! I'm a Pony Wars fan too!" exclaimed Lilac. Island smiled.
"Now that you've got to know us a little more... let's have some CAKE!" yelled Caramel.
Smiling from eye to eye, Team 7C picked up their cheesecake and started to eat.