A whole month has finally passed. Mark could barely enjoy his weekend. He was always around people. Secretly to himself, he disliked the company of strangers. He didn't like meeting new people as it was just too time consuming and it took too much energy. He usually avoided people if he could, and only accepted few in his social circle. That would be Balkin and Celestia. Sometimes Twilight since he would be annoyed of her consistency of the frequent question.
"Mark, where are your friends?" Twilight asked as he was reading outside the café. He simply sipped his cup of coffee as a reply. It didn't drive her off though.
"Mark, you should go out and make some friends." Twilight advised him.
"First love advice, now friends? Please Miss Sparkle, I'm busy." He complained before returning to his reading.
Twilight levitated the book out of his hands and said, "Look, I love reading as much as any pony else. but there must be a line when it comes to the ponies and humans well being."
"Well being of what?" He retorted.
"Social contact."
Rolling his eyes, Mark simply took another sip of his coffee and said, "I don't need any more friends. Balkin is my friend, and that's good enough."
"Really Mark?"
"Really." Mark said as he snatched the book from Twilight. He left the table and Twilight altogether. at that point, Twilight began to think.
There has to be a way for him to make some more friends… but how…?
The talkative class exchanging conversations, hot topics, and gossip flow around the room. Balkin is one of them, spreading rumors of the so called, pony lover. It was a rumor that there were actual students seeing other ponies as their dates. The idea of it had made the school antsy. Pony and human. How would that work? How would it last? And most of all, are they planning to come back home? Though it was a number one priority to go back home, many of the high school residents began to accept the facts. No one knew how to come back. It was pointless. Of course, if they had believe that a hundred percent, the idea of going to this school would be useless since it had no real learning value in the magical world of Equestria. At least to this point, not anymore.
Twilight enters the classroom with her assistant, Spike. The class stares at the little dragon, not ever seeing one before. Spike was a bit nervous as everyone looked at him without taking a moment to blink.
"Hello class. As you can see, we have a special guest." Twilight announced.
"Who's the lizard?" Balkin questioned.
Spike jumped up to Balkin and scolded, "I'm not a lizard! I'm a dragon!"
Balkin only stared at him for a few moments before he could come up with a response. "… Really?"
"Yes, really!" Spike shouted before being whisked away back to Twilight's side using her magic.
"This is my number one assistant, Spike." Twilight told everyone. "Say hello class."
"Hello Spike." They greeted in unison.
"Hi every pony! It's great to be here!" Spike responded quite cheerfully. "Twilight told me a lot about you guys, so I was pretty excited that I got to finally meet you."
Mark had a feeling that Twilight was up to something. Of course it sounds silly, but Mark has been developing a keen sense on times when Twilight plans something… fishy.
"Now, I have a special surprise for you class." Twilight began. "We have a few new students who are attending class with us."
Where is this going? Mark wondered as he eyed his teacher suspiciously.
"They'll be with us for a while to see how if the school fits them or not. Without further ado, let's have them come in."
Spike opened the door and coming in are 5 ponies. The class however was unaware that these five ponies are none other than Twilight's friends. Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. They entered in that order and stood in front of the class by the board.
"Why don't you introduce yourselves?" Twilight insisted.
"Really Twi?" Rainbow questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"That's Miss Sparkle." She responded with a twitchy eye.
"Alright then." Applejack started off. "Howdy every pony! My name is Applejack."
"Hello Applejack." The class greeted in unison.
"I'm Rarity." She introduced herself with a bow.
"Hi Rarity." They all responded in unison.
"And I'm Pinkie!" she shouted out immediately. "Wow! I never seen so many humans at once before! I heard every pony was scared of you at first until this boy named Mark came and talked to Princess Celestia. Is he in your class by the way?"
Mark held the book up to cover his face, but it was no use as everyone pointed at his location, including Balkin.
You all are the worst.
The five ponies looked at Mark and nodded at each other. No one noticed the sly looks on their faces before it changed into a dumb smile.
"Anyways…" Rainbow began. "My name is Rainbow Dash!"
Somehow, she brought excitement to the class. They all started to ask questions as they were familiar with this tomboyish pegasus.
"Aren't you the same one who won at those soccer games?" Nick asked.
"Or the one who bragged about how you broke the sound barrier making a sonic rainboom?" Tucker added.
Balkin also happened to say something. "I remember you! You were playing basketball outside of this classroom when I was in detention!"
Before she could reply, Twilight knocked on her desk to gather everyone's attention with the noise.
"Thank you Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted rather sarcastically. "Now then… let her introduce herself."
Everyone turned their attention towards Fluttershy. With the sudden amount of eyes staring down at her, she quickly began to freeze up. It was a standstill of the frightened pegasus and the vast amount of attention onto her. It was a while before Balkin happened to break the ice.
"I remember you too! You're Butter Guy!"
Silence flooded the classroom as the ponies simply dropped their jaws. The class held in their laughter for a few seconds before they all exploded in laughter. Fluttershy hid behind her mane due to her insecurity. At that moment, Rainbow rushed towards Balkin and grabbed his shirt with her hooves, holding him up.
"What'd you call her!?" Rainbow questioned angrily.
"I just said her name!" Balkin replied. "Right Butter Guy?"
"Her name isn't Butter Guy! It's Fluttershy!" she shouted.
Balkin tilted his head in confusion. "Really? But she told me it was Butter Guy!"
"Rainbow!" Twilight called. "Release Balkin this instant!"
"But this kid's making fun of Fluttershy!" Rainbow rebutted.
"I wasn't making fun of her!" he insisted.
"Rainbow… put… him… down… NOW." Twilight demanded quite sternly. The students shut their mouths as the ponies were quiet too. Rainbow regretfully lets go of Balkin and lets him back in his seat. He tugged his shirt quite annoyed of Rainbow.
"Now Balkin…" Twilight called. "Even though you didn't mean it, you should apologize to Fluttershy."
Balkin rolled his eyes before apologizing. "Sorry Fluttershy."
"Say it like you mean it!" Rainbow threatened.
"That's enough Rainbow!" Twilight scolded. "Now apologize to Balkin."
"WHAT!? Why do I have to say sorry!?" Rainbow questioned.
"You held him by his shirt and above the floor." Twilight reminded her. "Here at school, we do our best to diminish violence to the best of our ability."
Rainbow groaned and turned away muttering to Balkin, "Sorry…"
"What? What was that?" Balkin asked.
"Rainbow." Twilight spoke rather strongly.
Rainbow Dash turned to Balkin and said, "Sorry. There, ya happy?"
"Maybe." Balkin chuckled to himself.
Twilight sighed at this already going downhill. Continuing to hold her composure, she continued on. "Alright you five, take a seat. Spike, just sit by me in case I need anything."
The five ponies chose their seats. Balkin glared at Rainbow as she too glared back. Mark looked behind him to see Fluttershy covering her face with a book. He turned slowly away from the pegasus.
"Can you believe her!?" Balkin complained. "I didn't mean to insult her anyways! And then she suddenly flies up to me and was like-"
"You called her Butter Guy." Mark reminded him. "Those two obviously are friends, so it was natural that she defended her name."
"Still, she was over the top about it." Balkin grumbled, crossing his arms.
In cooking class, Mr. Beck finishes his roll call as well as adding down the students name to his roll sheet for later.
"Alright class." Mr. Beck calls out, grasping the attention of his students. "We'll be cooking something so easy, it'll be a piece of cake!"
"Is it a cake?" Balkin spoke.
"No, it's a pie."
"Why didn't you just say easy as pie, then?"
"Because that would be too obvious dumb-dumb!" Mr. Beck retorted, making Balkin groan. "Anyways, listen for your name. This will be your group for today."
He checks his list of students and begins.
"Carlton, Dalton, and Nick. You are group A. Mark, Balkin, and Garett, you are-"
Suddenly, a note is flung over to Mr. Beck. The class looks around wondering who had shot the note. Mr. Beck opened it and read its contents.
"What does it say?" Mark asked.
Mr. Beck scans the note and crumbles it up. "Nothing important. Now then, Mark, Balkin, and Applejack. You are in group B"
"Uh… Wasn't I supposed to be in group B?" Garett wondered.
"I'm choosing randomly Garett. Please calm yourself." Mr. Beck claimed.
"More like someone's pulling the strings." Balkin whispered to Mark.
"Or some pony." Mark growled.
After prepping up for cooking, the groups gather together and went into their designated kitchens. In kitchen B, Mark, Balkin, and Applejack are checking the recipe. Cherry pie was the order, and they had to bake it.
"Cherry pie?" Applejack retorted. "Why not apples?"
"It's no big deal." Mark stated as he took out the listed ingredients. "I hope you know how to bake Applejack."
"Actually, I bake a lot back home. This won't take long." Applejack told the boys.
"Really?" Balkin responded quite surprised.
"Yep! In fact, let me handle this. That way, we can get through this a lot quicker."
Mark didn't want to let her do all the work by herself. "But we're not supposed to do it alone."
"No, it's fine. Just let me handle it and you two will have the tastiest pie in your life!" Applejack assured him.
Sighing, he allows the new student do as she pleases. In his mind, he knew it was a bad idea. However, who would say no to free time? Mark took out his book and passed the time reading. Balkin watched closely watching Applejack live up to her words. She took barely any time making the batter and pretty much carried the group on her back. As she places the pie in the oven, she looks at the familiar oven with not so familiar buttons.
"Uh… What's all this doohickey?" Applejack asked.
"Hm? Oh, well you know. These buttons allow you to choose the temperature and how long you want to bake it." Balkin explained. "Need help with it?"
"Nah, I'm okay… Oh horse apples!" Applejack realized something important. "I forgot to preheat the oven!"
"Maybe you can turn up the temperature to bake it faster." Balkin suggested.
"Well… Doing something like that doesn't usually end well…" Applejack thought. She looked at the clock seeing only ten minutes of class left. Not wanting to fail on her first day, she followed the plan anyways. "I suppose a rise in heat won't be too much trouble…"
Applejack fiddles with the buttons, getting the numbers just how she wanted it. Balkin pressed the start button, and the oven started to bake. Sighing in relief, she left Balkin to watch after the oven while she went over to Mark. Balkin wasn't really paying attention to the pie however as he simply stared into space, daydreaming. Mark was reading until he received a little nudge from his leg. Applejack was poking him to get his attention.
"Oh, uh… What is it Applejack?" Mark wondered.
"So, you're Mark? The same boy who protected the Princess when that other human was about to attack her?" Applejack asked.
"Don't bring up the past." Mark told her. "I'm not one to like remembering things of yesterday."
"You and me both." Applejack sighed. "Glad you aren't the boastful type."
"You know me too well." Mark said as he turned the page.
Applejack started to scratch the back of her head to that statement. "Aw, well, I don't know about knowing you too well-"
"No, you're getting to know me too well." Mark said it again, only more clearly of what he meant. "I don't think we should stay on this subject anymore, much less talk about me."
"What's wrong with that partner?" Applejack questioned rather curious of his change in mood.
Mark turned the next page, not stuttering in anyway. "I don't want to share anymore info to you. I rather be alone right now."
"But we're in a group. You know, in this together?" Applejack reminded him.
"You mean how we baked the pie together?" Mark retorted, making Applejack back off a bit. "Exactly. We rather do things on our own, do we not?"
Applejack tried to shake the conversation towards the main topic in her mind. "Well… that aside, you do things with others, right?"
"Not really… Why?" Mark asked, eying her with a steady glance.
Before she could continue, something started to smell. It was a smoky sensation up in the air. It took a while to notice it had a hint of apple in it too.
"Smoke?" Mark realized. "From our oven!?"
Balkin snapped out of his trance and looked at the burning pie within the oven. He looked at the temperature had surpassed five hundred degrees and had gone on for eight minutes.
"What the!? The timer's not turned on!" Balkin realized before running to the oven. "There's no timer set… but someone did change the time of day to two o clock."
"Oh… I think I got the two mixed up." Applejack admitted.
One fire panic later, Mark and Balkin moves to their next class. Wearing their burnt school uniforms and moving along with the wind blowing their hair full of soot, the students gaze among the magnificence of burning an apple pie.
"How the heck does that even happen!?" Balkin questioned the laws of physics.
"Bake an apple pie, set no timer, put the heat to five hundred degrees… No, I don't see how the oven exploding should ever happen. I don't even know how we're alive." Mark said before coughing.
"I'm gonna hit the showers before we go Algebra." Balkin planned.
"You're gonna skip algebra? Really?" Mark spoke with disappointment.
"Just the first thirty minutes." He claimed. Either way, if he took a shower for thirty minutes, he would practically miss class.
After Balkin left, Mark roamed the hallways alone. Not minding it, he continued to read his book. It was going at a quiet, serene pace. Outside, you can see leaves being blown in the autumn sky. Even though it was fall, it was still pretty warm. Probably due to the fact that pegasi can control the weather to any way they want it. Upon entering the class, the students were at their seats watching Rarity, demonstrate a very long equation to Mr. Christopher, the teacher of the class.
"And that's how you find the answer Mr. Christopher." Rarity finished, placing the chalk onto the board.
The teacher was in awe. "I'm very impressed Rarity! I didn't think you'd finish it so swiftly!"
"Well, being a clothing designer, one must use lots of math to make the correct measurements." Rarity informed her teacher. She was about to head to her seat until she noticed Mark in his… state. "Mark! What on earth happened to you?"
The class turned to Mark, standing in the class covered in ashes. Mark sighed out three simple words. "Cooking class explosion."
"Well, we can't leave you like this!" Rarity stated. She turned to the teacher and said, "Excuse me! Do you have any spare cloth materials? My friend will need a brand new attire to replace his current clothing."
"Uh… In the sewing class, but I don't think-" Mr. Christopher began, but was immediately outspoken by Rarity.
"You have a sewing class!? Why in Equestria did Twilight not tell me!?" Rarity questioned the heavans before turning to Mark. "Where is it?"
"Uh… It's in the third floor-" Mark stopped as he felt the magic of Rarity carry him.
"Then on we go!" Rarity said as she took them both out of Algebra.
"Wait! We can't just leave class! Hey!" Mark shouted as he was brought farther and farther from the classroom.
The students stared at the door before Mr. Christopher wrote something in his roll sheet. "Mark… is… absent…"
As she raced through with Mark floating right by her, she finds herself upon a room full of tailoring supplies, but no students or teachers. She looked around to find the finest of school sewing equipment, but no one in sight.
"Mark?" She called. "Where is everypony? Why is this class empty?"
"First… let me down." Mark demanded. Rarity releases him from her grasp, allowing him to stand. "Thank you. As for the class, it's because the teacher of this classroom isn't here anymore."
"What do you mean?" Rarity asked still confused.
"Well, she was one of the other staff and students who ran away from the school. Since then, classes and programs like sewing has been closed down since there's no one to teach it." Mark explained.
"Oh… how awful!" Rarity said dreadfully. "Whatever shall this school do without the knowledge of fashion?"
"Uh… find other opportunities?" Mark commented.
"Certainly there must be some pony that still sews… hold on…" She spoke, inspecting the sewing machine. "This one has been used…"
Mark took a look at the sewing machine. He felt the warmth of the hardware and looked at the roll of string still attached to the top. "You're right… But no one's allowed to be in here except the staff and me…"
As the two pondered at this anomaly, another clue brings them ever closer to solving this small time mystery. Listening carefully, Mark and Rarity heard something quite melodious.
"Do you hear… music?"