A prominent political figure was standing in front of several news cameras as well as a throng of journalists armed with notepads and pencils. His sharp-cut suit and red tie distinguished him from the crowd as he pulled out a folded piece of paper out of his jacket.

He took a second to compose himself while he unfolded the paper, wiping a layer of sweat off his brow.

“Tonight, we can say with confidence that we have successfully negotiated, alongside the Principality of Equestria, as well as her allies and neighbours, a cultural exchange program that will allow our two nations to grow closer together and develop a mutual cultural understanding.

“This program was negotiated very carefully, keeping cultural norms and political sensitivities in mind. Given the current situation with a close neighbour of Equestria as well as other security concerns, their input was considered during the course of negotiations.

“Other than those slight bumps in the road, I personally think the negotiations went very well.”

“Through this program, Equestrian citizens, roughly of high school age, will have the opportunity to increase their understanding of American culture and society as well as broadening their social horizons. On top of that, I’m sure that Equestrians selected to embark on a journey such as this will forge friendships that will last a lifetime.

“Equestrian citizens will also be immersed in the cultures and customs of Equestria’s immediate neighbours and gain a vital understanding that will be beneficial in the years to come. On a diplomatic level, we can use the knowledge obtained from such exchanges to diffuse conflicts and to otherwise bring America, Equestria, and other nations closer to each other in that regard…

“Once we get word of the full list of applicants that have been accepted into our program, the governments of both America and Equestria will conduct a rigorous background check and interview process to ensure that these applicants can faithfully and truly serve in their roles as foreign exchange students, as young ambassadors, and as representatives of their family and of their home country.

“In the coming days and weeks, host families will be sought and vetted for this program. Should they choose to accept, we recommend that they be well-prepared to experience a new culture as well as give a new cultural experience to whoever is chosen to live with them over the course of their ten months of exchange. They’ll be responsible for providing accommodation, meals, and a stable family environment.

“Even though the concept of a cultural exchange has its drawbacks - culture shock being one of them, which could happen regardless of how much preparation is made and how much knowledge they may have about the new culture - we’re sure that the benefits from this program will be reaped for years to come. Sure, it may take some adjusting at first, but experiencing a new culture like this will be of immeasurable value, not only to the students, but also to both countries.

• • • • •

It was a lazy day in Equestria; the warm air, the summer sun, and the gentle breeze made it ideal for Rainbow Dash to take one of her signature naps. Derpy came by in the afternoon while on one of her mail runs, intending to deliver the sleeping mare a letter from Canterlot.

Of course, being her ditzy self, she couldn’t manage to find the front door to her cloud mansion. However, knowing where her bedroom was, she popped in through the window, rudely interrupting Dash’s sleep in the process.

Rainbow simply rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She crawled off her bed and picked up the letter, which was printed on extra fancy paper and sealed with the royal crest.

I am pleased to inform you that your application for the Equestrian Friendship Exchange has been accepted.

At the moment, a host family is being arranged in the area that the Exchange has determined to be the most safe for Equestrian students while abroad.

As far as the remainder of your application goes, the following will need to be taken care of before 31 July:

Scheduled interviews - one with a program coordinator, as well as one with the embassy of the country you’ll be staying in throughout the course of the programRecommendation letters, or references from schools or employersParents’ letterMedical forms, a complete physical/medical screening, plus up-to-date immunizationsHost family preferencesVisa application (preferably a long-term student or an educational visa)Passport
Once all this is turned in, you’ll be sent a packet containing all the necessary information concerning the program and what to expect.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself or the program coordinators. In the meantime, feel free to contact Maria Escovedo, our “local contact”, using the information included on her business card, which I've enclosed in this letter.

• • • • •

Rainbow Dash was lounging in her office-doubling-as-a-second-home, slaving over reports when her work phone rang. At first, she wanted to simply throw it out of her window, but then she picked it up.

The voice on the other end belonged to Maria, her exchange coordinator; she’d been expecting a call from either her or Celestia herself concerning fine details of her trip over.

“I’m doing fine, thank you. I have some very good news that I’d like to share.”

“Really?” Rainbow nearly lept of her chair when she heard those words cross her ear. “Who are they?!” she demanded to know.

“Well, they live out in the country somewhat, so the area’s fairly relaxed,” she began to explain. “They’re a very nice and inviting family; they’ve got a fairly big house with a hot tub, so you may want to bring along a swimsuit.”

Her eyes went wide, and her mouth started to gape open. Maria went on. “They live in an area with lots of kids and teenagers, so you’ll probably make some new friends while you’re there… it’s really beautiful, if you ask me. I live on the same road that they do.”

“They’ll also have, possibly, another foreign exchange student with them, so be prepared for that.”

“But I’m getting off topic here. As for your host family, there’s a really nice couple, Chris and Kath Van Driessen. They have a son your age, called James. I’ve known these people for years, and they jumped at the chance to host you…

“There’s grandparents and cousins and sisters and brothers and school friends and so on that like to visit from time to time, so you’ll have plenty of company!”

“Good.” Maria talked some more. “The house is amazing -- two bed, three bath, walk-in wardrobes, you name it, they’ve got it. Those two are often into business overseas, so they can afford it.”

“Awesome! When can I start packing?!” she said, practically bursting with excitement.

“Your flight leaves on the first of August -- you’ll have plenty of time. I’ve managed to put you, Gilda, Argie, Brolly Brella, Surprise, Derpy Hooves, Billy, Hoops, Quarterback, and Lyra on the first one, while the others will be on the second flight out, which will probably be on the third of August, but I’m not sure of it yet…

“I can anticipate both of the flights going to Pittsburgh -- that’s in Pennsylvania -- with orientation being somewhere in the neighborhood of the seventh or eighth of August. This, however, has yet to be decided.”

“Great! Bye-bye...” Dash ended the call and slammed the phone down on its hook. The reports were the furthest thing from her mind; she’d explain it to Cloudsdale later if they found out.

At this point, perhaps the aforementioned host family should be discussed. Chris and Kath have several years of experience hosting foreign exchange students, so this year (supposedly) is no different. Because of their business savvy, they were incredibly influential in their community since moving here from Cosarara twenty-five years ago.

In a way, their hosting of foreign exchange students helped them with their business because of the greater understanding of culture. For James especially, friendship was the reason; he enjoyed all the new friends he made because of his exposure to new cultures and new people. As an added bonus, he’s able to speak at least four other languages fluently.

His grandparents also hosted exchange students from the Soviet Union and other communist-aligned countries back in the day. With a background like this, the Van Driessens didn’t hesitate to welcome her in; they considered it a point of honor. They were also enticed because of the allure of the new experiences they’d have. James was more than looking forward to it all.

As far as James goes, he’s one of the most popular guys at school. He was on the student council, coming off his recent election as student body president; he was a member of a service organisation, and was it also mentioned that he was the drummer in a band?! His senior year was going to be his best one yet!

One of the drawbacks of this popularity, of course, is the enemies made. Whether it’s his slightly off-kilter accent, his well-off parents, his outspoken views, or his perceived rich-kid lifestyle, the way he stood out from the crowd -- even leading it at times -- seemed to draw the ire of the jealous.

Fortunately, he had his friends by his side -- Jeremy Prema, the student body vice president, Richard Pottinger, the captain of the football team, John Grant, whom James has known since middle school, Chris Taylor, who lived for basketball, Jason Alessandro, passionate about nature, David Gresson, who was obsessed with anything Star Wars and Star Trek related, and a myriad of others.

His closest, however, was Maria Escovedo, a family friend to the Van Driessens and next door neighbor; more importantly, the one who convinced the Van Driessens to host foreign exchange students in the first place.

She was like an aunt to James -- so much so that she even went on family vacations with them; their friendship deepened when the Van Driessens began hosting six years ago. She taught him a great deal about the cultures of the kids she worked with, which in turn helped him understand and grow closer to his exchange brothers and sisters. When the student left at the end of their exchange year, she helped him cope with his emotions by having special days together.

• • • • •

As soon as Rainbow Dash got home from her Weather Patrol shift, she fired up her laptop and logged into Facebook, eager to chat with her new host brother. His name was James, and according to his profile, he was seventeen years old, very handsome (from his pictures), and incredibly fond of the family pets - a dog, Priscilla, and a cat, Elvis.

Looking through his pictures, he seemed to be quite popular. There were photos of him with the football team, working with the student council, and doing fun things with other foreign exchange students.

James Van Driessen

So you’re my new “sister”

Gotcha

I bet

How old are you?

I’m 17, and I’ll be
turning 18 in October

My parents are cool

How was the whole
application process?

Eurgh

Go on…

I had to fill out a ton of forms
Like “why you would be a good
exchange student”, “experience
of different cultures”, things like that

I bet that wasn’t quite fun

I’m talking about the
application stuff

And how did that go

OK
The principals were more than
happy to do that for me b/c they
don’t like me very well

Hahaha

and wanted me out of their manes
for Celestia’s sake, I could hear them
having a party in the teacher’s lounge
afterwards

*tears of joy*

I’ll explain later
What else did
you have to do?

I had to convince my employer to
be a reference of sorts
(Funny story about that, both my
team leaders, both of whom I
work with, and their superior,
had a massive argument about
my performance)

Hahahahahaha

Where do you work?
Just asking

Ponyville weather patrol
Wonderbolts trainee
Currently a member of the
Wonderbolts reserves, but I’ll
be a official member next year

Interesting

On top of that, I have to fill out
a HORRIBLY complicated
medical form
I also have to get a LOT of
injections and immunity tests

Which hurt, btw
Just putting that
out there

I don’t blame you

Those HURT!

I always hated going
to the doctors’ because
of that

My friends tell me that
all the time!!!

But enough of that
What else did you
have to do?

About a week ago, I had
an interview with one of
the exchange coordinators
I was very nervous, but
it wasn’t that bad
Her name was Maria I think

You mean my
neighbor Maria?

The one with the curly

hair and all that?

Maria Escovedo, was it?

She told me all about you
just yesterday while we
had her over for dinner
That’s when we found out
we’d be your host family

Having a “who do you think
you are” moment, Dashie?

And what’s a “wingboner”?

OK then

It comes with
experience I guess
We’ve hosted before,

so it’s no different
this time around

Which reminds me, I also
had to fill out this paper about
what I’d want in a host family

Let me guess:
we fit the profile?

We were the first
people she came to

They shouldn’t lose any
sleep over it. Maria says
that most exchange kids
don’t know who their host
families are until at least
2 weeks before they leave

I’ll be sure to keep that in mind
But I AM worried about leaving
all my friends and family behind

Homesickness?

That’s perfectly normal

Well, our culture IS unique, so
it’ll certainly take some adjustment

That’s great!
Did you have to do much else?

The exchange program?
Like, what to expect and
how our cultures are different

Basically, yes
They told me, also, the
“Absolutely No” stuff --
running away, expulsion,
drugs, weapons, preggo,
self-harm (whatever that
is) -- that would get me sent
straight home

I would hope so

And how did that go?

First, I had to fill out
this HUGE application
It was very easy, I just
ticked the right boxes
and that was it

“Are you a terrorist?”
Nope
“Do you live in a hollowed-
out volcano on a stranded
island in the South Pacific?”
Nope

“Do you possess nuclear
weapons?” Nope

OMG JAMES STOP IT!
YOU’RE MAKING ME
LAUGH AGAIN!
[color=#6aaadBut seriously, tick the right
boxes and you’ll be fine

Hahaha

That was a couple

days ago, right?

I had to be over there
by 9:30 in the morning
The trip over wasn’t that
bad at all
I had to wait in a line
and go through security
Luckily, I had a friend with
me to hold all my stuff while
I waited for my interview

Was it Gilda?

Who else but her
She’s on the program,
too, and she has her
interview sometime in
early July

How’d the interview go?

They gave me a little
visitor’s badge, and we
went up some stairs to a
waiting room of sorts
I handed in my paperwork
to the receptionist lady there

Was she scary?

She seemed friendly
So, they escorted me to
the interview room, and
I handed in my paperwork
again to the guy who worked
for the embassy

Is there a lot of paperwork?

A mountain of it
I also had to take a picture
of myself to the interview
I also had to buy a special
envelope to hold everything
in for when they send it all
to the U.S.

Did you do good?

He didn’t ask me too many
hard questions, I was in and
out in about 5 minutes
Had to wait for a long time
though

How long was it?

Wow, that’s a long time

And he was really nice to me,
which was good
Plus, I knew at that point who
my host family was, so that
made it so much easier

Nice!

Also, on the way back, Gilda
and I stopped at the mall
and got pina coladas
which was awesome

Cool
I didn’t know that
you guys had malls

Heheheh
We have highways, railroads,
and big cities just like yours
(Our neighbors have a LOT of
money so they did that for us)

Now I’m even more
excited for you to come!

When do you leave?

Maria called last week when
she was arranging all the
flights and stuff
There’s two groups of ten
coming over
I’m with the first group, which
leaves 1 August
The second group leaves
3 August, I think

Excellent

It was nice getting
to talk to you

Maybe I can add you
on all my social media

I’m going to go to
bed now

Visions of adventure and passion danced in the young mare’s head as she drifted off to sleep that night.

Across the Divide

by Sparkle Fire

The Premise [Read First!]