//------------------------------// // Bus Business // Story: The Foreign Exchange Student // by FlameBow717 //------------------------------// It had been one week since Twilight had moved in with the Wallace family. They were all adjusting pretty well, minus Kristy, who wasn’t happy about sharing her room with a talking, purple equine. Twilight had tried her best to get along with Kristy, but she continued to ignore and make fun of her. It was now the first day of the school year, and the teen and the mare were just waking up. “Could someone turn that thing off,” Kristy moaned as the alarm clock started beeping. “I got it,” Twilight said, her horn glowing as she pressed the power button and turned on the lights. “I meant the alarm, not the lights!” a blinded Kristy shouted as she sat up in the bed, hitting her head on the top bunk. “Ow,” Twilight peeked over the edge of her bed. “Are you alright?” “I’m fine, just getting used to getting up this early again. What time is it anyway?” Twilight looked over at the clock. “6:30,” “Great. I have time for a shower then,” Kristy said, walking over to her closet and grabbing a red t-shirt and some black yoga pants. “Don’t take too long in there,” Twilight said as Kristy walked out the door to the bathroom. “I need to take one too. “Yeah, well, I’m going first. Mostly because you left purple fur in there yesterday after you took your shower. And believe me, going after you wasn’t fun,” Kristy said with a smirk. “I both understand and take offense to that,” “Good,” Kristy said as she shut the bathroom door. About fifteen minutes later, Kristy came downstairs to find her parents, Will, and Jess eating a breakfast of waffles and muffins. She sat down at the table as they heard the shower turn on upstairs. “The bus will be here in about ten minutes guys. So eat quickly. And Kristy?” Michael said. “What, Dad?” Kristy said. “Shorter showers, please. Twilight needs time in there too,” “Whatever,” Kristy said, rolling her eyes at her father. “And don’t roll your eyes at me,” “Again, whatever,” Kristy said as she took a bite of her muffin. “So, how excited are you guys about school starting?” Lori asked as she looked at the clock. “I mean it sucks that summer is over, but I get to see my friends again, so that’s good,” Will said. “Same. I just wonder how people on the bus will react when they see us get on with Twilight,” Jess added, glancing up towards the bathroom. “And Kristy? What about you?” Michael asked. Kristy glanced up from her phone, looked at her father, and went back to texting her friends. Michael sighed, got up from his chair and grabbed his coat as he went to the door. “See you guys at five. Love you,” he said as he went to leave for work. “Bye hon!” Lori said to her husband as the shower turned off upstairs. As Michael closed the door, Twilight came down the stairs, her mane and tail frazzled from the water. “Morning everypo-one. Darn, that is a hard habit to break.” Lori and Will tried to hide their grins as Twilight sat down at the table. “I don’t know about you guys, but I am pumped for school!” Twilight said, grinning ear to ear. “Yeah, it’s so great,” Kristy mumbled. “I know, right!” Twilight said. “I was being sarcastic, idiot,” “Oh,” Twilight said, her ears going flat against her skull. Lori got up and went over to the window. Her eyes widened at the sight of the bus coming down the road. “Guys, the bus is here! Get a move on!” she practically shouted at her children. The Wallace children and Twilight shot up from their chairs, running into and tripping each other as they frantically finished their breakfast and got their stuff packed. Will and Jess were almost out the door when their mother grabbed them and gave them the lunches they forgot in the chaos. “Thanks, Mom! See you after school!” They said as the ran towards the bus. Twilight was about to head out when Kristy pushed past her, knocking her into the coat rack. As the mare got up, Kristy hopped into the bus with her brother and sister, not even taking a second glance at the damage she caused. “Sorry about her. I’ll talk to her later,” Lori said as she helped Twilight up. “Hey, I’ve had to deal with worse. I can handle a teenager. Besides, she has yet to see me when I’m angry,” Twilight said with a smirk. “I’m sure that we don’t want to see that. Now get a move on before the bus leaves without you,” Lori said, motioning to the door. Twilight galloped out to the bus, much to the shock of the bus driver and students, who were not expecting to see a lavender pony run out of the house. As Twilight got on the bus and looked for an open seat, she couldn’t help but overhear the whispers of the students. “Is that an Equestrian?” “Why is there a purple horse on the bus?” “Awesome!” “They weren’t kidding when they said ponies,” “I hope she’s in my class!’ “Look at those wings!” “You think she can hear us with those huge ears?” “Forget the ears! Look at that horn!” “Do you think she speaks English?” “Who cares! The fact she can talk is cool enough,” “What was she doing in the Wallace house?” “She’s our foreign exchange student!” Will said, cutting off the whispers as Twilight found a seat next to a tall girl with blond hair. The girl just sat there, mouth hanging open, as Twilight sat down on the seat. She looked over at the girl and smiled. “Hi,” Twilight said. The girl’s mouth remained open as she tried to process what was happening. Twilight looked around the bus. There were a few students in the front glancing back towards her and the girl. She saw Kristy sitting next to a guy with black hair, most likely her boyfriend. Will and Jess were chatting with their friends about their classes. There was a group of tough looking jocks at the back of the bus, talking about sports and a few people who were engrossed in their phones. Twilight was broken from her trance when the girl next to her spoke. “Samantha,” the girl next to Twilight said while looking out the window. “Huh?” Twilight asked, her brow raised. “My name is Samantha,” “Nice to meet you, Samantha. I’m Twi-” “Twilight Sparkle, I know. More specifically Princess Twilight Sparkle,” Samantha said turning towards the mare. Twilight looked at her hooves. “Please don’t call me that. I don’t really let people use that title when talking to me personally. It makes me feel like I’m better than everyone else when I’m really not. Also, how did you know my name?” Twilight said glancing at Samantha. “I watch the news a lot. Your name is somewhat well known to humanity since Equestria made first contact with Earth. Honestly, I’m still freaking out that you’re talking to me. “Well, I can understand that. The Wallaces felt that way too,” “What were you doing there anyway?” Samantha asked curiously. “What do you mean?” “The Wallace’s. I mean, are you staying there or something?” “Yeah, I’m their foreign exchange student, as Will so graciously shouted to the whole bus earlier,” Twilight responded. Samantha glanced over to the house as the bus started moving “So, how bad has Kristy been?” "What?" "You know, the girl who texts everyone every little thing about her life who also bullied everyone over the summer?" “Terrible! She called me, and I quote, “freak-of-nature purple horse” among other things,” Twilight said making air quotes. “She also refused to help clear the stuff off my bed, tripped me multiple times, and you would not believe the mouth she had when she called a bi- ” Twilight stopped for a moment. “Word that is considered a crime to say in Equestria,” “Wow. I mean, I heard she had gotten worse, but damn, I didn’t think she was that ruthless,” Samantha said. Twilight’s mouth fell open when Samantha said damn. Samantha smiled as she closed Twilight’s open mouth. “Oh, by the way, swearing is more common on Earth than it is in Equestria, so I’d not stare when people do it,” The pony put that information in the back of her mind as she asked the question she had wanted to ask Lori but never had the guts to. "Why is Kristy so mean anyway?" Twilight asked. Samantha glanced over at Kristy "Well, she wasn't always like that. I used to be part of her friend group until earlier this summer when she started to bully people. I'm pretty sure she started to be like this because Beth-" The bus stopped abruptly, sending Samantha into the seat in front of them while Twilight fell out of the seat and onto the floor. "Oh my God! Are you alright?" Samantha asked as Twilight moaned. "Yeah, just wanted to see what the floor tasted like. By the way, it tastes like dirt," Twilight grumbled as Samantha helped her up. "Well, we're here. Riverford High School," Samantha said as the doors to the bus opened and people started getting off. "Come on, we don't want to be late, especially on the first day," Twilight started trotting towards the door with Samantha in tow, the latter almost tripping over Twi's tail on the stairs. Twilight stared at the big brick building in front of her. Students were frantically flowing in through the crowded front doors, a few glancing over at Twilight on their way in. Music was blasting from a massive stereo near the entrance. A giant banner hanging from the roof said, "Welcome back!" as well as a sign that said, "Riverford High School" next to the entryway to the building. "Well, here we go," Twilight said to Samantha as they headed into the crowd of people flowing into the school.