Burnt Orange Juice

by Mike the Red

A New Student is Introduced

We managed to make it all the way to the schoolhouse without further incident, whereupon I heaved a sigh of relief at not having to address any other excessively curious ponies who should know better than to ask stupid questions. I followed Twilight to the school's office and watched as paperwork was filled out for me. During a recess break, Miss Cheerilee entered and struck up a conversation with the librarian, though she also acknowledged my presence as well. Upon seeing me, she did a double-take.

"Sweetie Belle? I thought you were supposed to be in class!" the young teacher exclaimed in near exasperation. I grinned at her, thought Twilight glared at me in disapproval upon seeing my reaction.

"Actually, I'm not Sweetie Belle, Miss Cheerilee," I replied matter-of-factly, drawing a gasp from a secretary who was filling out paperwork for me.

"Then who are you?" she asked, her gaze narrowing at me.

"I'm her twin sister, Aurora Belle -- we were separated at birth and I've been living in Trottingham for the past nine years," I replied, my grin widening.

"That's not true, Michael," the librarian retorted coldly. I glanced over my left side and rolled my eyes at the lavender unicorn.

"Oh, come on, Miss Twilight, can't I at least be allowed to have a little fun?" I asked. The burgundy mare gave me a look of shock, her mouth agape. "Miss Cheerilee, my story is one you won't believe," I announced. "But maybe you'd need Miss Twilight to explain the details to you."

"Who were you staying with in Trottingham?" asked the teacher.

"I was with an aunt of mine -- she raised chickens for a living, and we affectionately named her Cluckin' Belle," I replied, my grin nearly splitting my face. My explanation earned a light growl of annoyance from the librarian and a bemused grin on the teacher's face.

"Did you have an uncle living with you as well?" the teacher pried further.

"Yeah, we named him Taco Belle," I giggled before Twilight shot me a very dirty look and growled a bit louder at me. "Awwww, come on, Miss Twilight! Let me have some fun! Pinkie Pie wouldn't do that!"

"Do I look like Pinkie Pie? I'm not her, so don't expect me to act like her, Michael!" Twilight grumped.

"Twilight, why are you calling her Michael? That's a male name, is it not?" asked Cheerilee.

"Well, she was male before she arrived in my bed yesterday morning -- told me she was originally named Michael. She woke up as Sweetie Belle --"

"Excuse me -- Michael, is it? If you're trotting around looking like Sweetie Belle -- you can't have the same name as her! What would you prefer to be called?" asked the teacher, a look of extreme curiosity on her face.

"Well -- I suppose you could call me Aurora -- I don't think I'd mind that," I replied, giving the mare a hopeful look. The secretary who had been filling out paperwork groaned audibly and the sound of ripping paper could be heard in the background.

"Now I'm going to have to fill out all this paperwork again. Twilight, you should have told me this before I started," she stated in great annoyance. She sighed heavily in exasperation to emphasize her point.

"Sorry," the librarian offered sheepishly. "So, Michael, you prefer to be called Aurora? Very well then, I'll try to remember that."

"I think that's a very pretty name," Cheerilee noted brightly. "So, Aurora, are you ready for your first day of classes? The year's close to over, so I won't call on you to answer any questions. I assume you know to raise your hoof if you need anything?"

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee," I replied.

"Don't cause any trouble, Michael," Twilight intoned, glaring at me again.

"Please don't call me that, Miss Twilight -- not unless I'm in my human body again," I requested, earning a shocked look from the teacher and the secretary. "What?" I asked, annoyance evident in my tone. "Miss Twilight, I promise not to cause any trouble -- as long as nopony makes any trouble for me. I make no guarantees then."

"Aurora, how old are you?" asked Cheerilee. Twilight grinned.

"Says she's 50 years old, Cheerilee," the librarian chuckled.

"Ugh! Miss Twilight, that was my human age!" I exclaimed in exasperation, exhaling sharply through my mouth.

"Seems I know how to annoy you," she giggled.

"I never thought the pony I idolized would act this way!" I exclaimed as my exasperation gave way to annoyance.

"I can't let you have all the fun now, can I?" she asked, flashing a mischievous grin at me. "You want to have fun? Go ahead, but don't take it too far -- or I might send you to stay with Rarity instead."

"What, so I can stay with my doppelganger? I think Rarity would have enough trouble with her sister alone without adding me into it as well," I responded. "Such a possibility does pique my curiosity though..."

"Don't get any ideas, Michael," Twilight admonished, glaring at me again. The briefest grin crossed my lips before disappearing under her withering gaze.

"Yes, Miss Twilight," I sighed.

"Miss Twilight, I will need for you to sign these papers. Aurora, if that is what you wish to be called, I will need your signature as well," the secretary stated after signing her copies. She had stamped them with a pre-inked stamp pad bearing the principal's signature, something which amazed me.

"I had no idea you had those here," I commented before grasping the ink quill in my aura. My hornwriting was atrocious, requiring me to use my right forehoof to sign the papers manually, though even that proved to be rather difficult.

"Aurora, I cannot read this," Cheerilee noted as she turned the paper over in three different directions.

"I signed it in the language I was taught, Miss Cheerilee," I replied. Twilight snatched the paper with her aura and examined it.

"Um, what language is this, Michael?"

"Ugh! It's English, the language I grew up reading, writing, and speaking, Miss Twilight," I groaned in disgust.

"I'm going to have to teach you Equish," the librarian stated cheerfully. "When you get done here, please come straight back to the library so we can begin!"

"I'm the teacher here, Twilight -- I will teach her Equish," Cheerilee responded.

"Wouldn't that interrupt the curriculum for this time of the school year?" asked Twilight, her grin widening as the burgundy mare grumbled in disappointment.

"Yes, that's right, Twilight -- it's too late in the year for Aurora to learn Equish at this point, so teach her what you can. Please try to be quick about it. Aurora, I hope you're a fast learner," she noted, flashing me a smile.

"Indeed I am, Miss Cheerilee. I promised to teach Twilight about my origin and customs, but I guess I'll have to teach her English as well. Truthfully, I look forward to discovering the contrast between the two languages, though the spoken form is virtually identical," I opined.

"You sound like you already have a good deal of education behind you," the teacher noted brightly.

"Miss Twilight told you I experienced 50 years of life as a human, and the first 20 or so was spent on education," I replied, causing both mares to give me looks of surprise.

"I thought you had no education," the secretary half-said, half-asked.

"Perhaps because this is the first time you've seen me -- and since I look like a filly, I'm sure that's what you thought when you first saw me. There's more to me than meets the eye, Miss Stenna Grapher," I proclaimed almost proudly.

"Stop showing off, Aurora! Miss Twilight, I will escort her to the classroom," Cheerilee offered, flashing a grin. "Miss Aurora, I am quite interested to know more about you and your origin. Perhaps you can tell the class some of your personal history."

"You mean my Trottingham history or human history?" I asked, flashing a wicked grin.

"Michael!" Twilight hissed, glaring angrily at me, causing me to grin sheepishly and shrug. The teacher beckoned me to follow her as she opened the door to the hallway, though she flashed me a grin and a soft chuckle. "Don't make me repeat myself, Aurora!" the librarian scolded before leaving for her home.

"If you don't mind, Aurora, I would like to hear both stories -- I'm willing to bet both of them will be quite entertaining. Here's your new classroom -- I will assign you a seat next to Sweetie Belle," offered Cheerilee. As she opened the door for me, all the fillies and colts rushed back to their seats. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon sat near the front, both of them gasping when they saw me, before they regained their composure and shot me a wicked grin. Sweetie Belle's jaw dropped, as did Apple Bloom and Scootaloo. I trotted over to the three fillies, a cheesy grin on my face.

"Class, I would like to introduce a new student -- her name is Aurora Belle, twin sister of Sweetie Belle," Cheerliee stated loudly, so that even Snips and Snails, who were sitting in the back could hear her. I received some friendly greetings from some, and a few stares from others, and looks of glowering disapproval from the bullies. I narrowed my eyes at them, returning their death gazes with one of my own. "I hope you'll treat her with respect and friendship -- that goes for you too, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon!"

"Yes, Miss Cheerilee," they responded, though a very condescending tone was quite evident in their response.

"Say it like you mean it!" I blurted out at them, drawing a gasp from the rest of the class and a harsh glare from the teacher. "Sorry, Miss Cheerilee, but I heard the way they acknowledged your request -- no sincerity at all behind it," I declared in an attempt at contrition.

"Your apology is accepted, Aurora. Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon -- I would strongly suggest you treat your new classmate with respect," she stated, fixing the two fillies with a stern gaze. They turned to me for just a second and stuck their tongues out at me. "Aurora, why not tell your classmates about your origin? Where you came from?"

I trotted to the front of the class and stood directly in front of the teacher's desk, facing my classmates. They seemed to stare at me attentively as I cleared my throat in order to tell my tale.

Comments

[WorldWalker128]

Twilight is not a people-person. But we already knew that.

[Pinklestia]

Well, I wonder how Rarity will react to this?

[KvAT]

Not gonna lie, Cheerilee seems like a wild pendulum I wouldn't trust to swing back after it goes one direction, but so far she seems decent.

[f0st3r21]

"Class, I would like to introduce a new student -- her name is Aurora Belle, twin sister of Sweetie Belle," Cheerliee stated loudly…

Cheerilee, that’s an insane way to publicly introduce Sweetie Belle to Aurora. How she didn’t freak out from that, I’ll never know.