Chapter 5: Star and Bucky's First Day of School
(Original Chapter)

Bucky woke up the next morning, stood up from his cot, and stretched. As he stretched, several popping noises came from his body, causing him to sigh in relief. He trudged over to his ensuite bathroom and undressed to take a shower, revealing a dark blue tattoo on his chest just to the right of his heart. At first glance the tattoo looked like a skull-and-crossbones, but a closer look revealed that it was actually a scallop shell and two crossed tridents. Hanging on a black cord around his neck was a golden scallop-shell locket that he took off and placed on top of his discarded pajamas. He showered and dressed in his usual civilian outfit before walking downstairs to join his sister and the Diaz family for breakfast. There was a hefty stack of syrup-drenched pancakes waiting for him at his spot at the dining room table.

"Buenos días, amigo! Come, I have prepared the breakfast I always make for Marco's first day of school, because today is your first day of school!" greeted Raphael enthusiastically. "Tell me, do you have coffee on Mewni?"

"Yes, sir. I would love some coffee," Bucky answered groggily. Despite being able to snap awake at a moment's notice to protect his sister, he definitely wasn't a morning person.

"Would you like some cream or sugar?" Angie asked, pouring some coffee into a mug for Bucky.

"No thank you. I like it black." Angie handed the steaming mug to Bucky, to which he gave a curt nod of thanks. After a few sips of the hot, bitter liquid, he began to feel more alert. He took one bite of his pancakes, then his eyes lit up and he practically inhaled the rest of the stack. "Thank you for breakfast, Mr. Diaz," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"It was my pleasure, amigo! You three should hurry before you miss the bus!" True to Raphael's word, the bus came to a stop outside their house right as the three teens finished gathering up their school supplies. Star summoned a glittery pink backpack covered in rainbows for herself, while Bucky used the brown leather haversack that he usually took on long journeys. They boarded the bus and were soon off to school, Star talking animatedly with Janna the whole way.

Once at the school building, Star and Bucky had a second encounter with Alfonso and Fergusen, who turned out to be Marco's two best friends. With assurances that Star would be safe with them, Bucky set off on his own to find his homeroom. His parents had already purchased all the books, paper, pencils, and other supplies he and Star would need for the rest of the school year, so he didn't have to worry about that. It was also helpful that Earth and Mewni had two different names for the exact same language, so they didn't have to worry about getting their books translated.

Bucky found the desk with his name on it and sat down. Soon after he did, the five-minute warning bell rang and more students his age began to file into the room. Class began, and a peppy, bright-eyed female teacher with a similar disposition to Marco's mother called on him and asked him to introduce himself as a new student. He shrugged, then stood up and walked to the front of the room. He overheard whispers from the students he passed about his characteristics and the way he was dressed, but he figured he would be answering their questions soon enough, so he ignored them.

"Hello, everyone!" he began. "My name is Buchanon Butterfly, and please no jokes about my last name. I'm a foreign exchange student from a place called Mewni. My parents are the king and queen, which makes me the prince. Even though I am their eldest child, my younger sister Star will become the next queen, because our monarchy is matriarchal. I'm willing to answer any questions, but I don't know how much time I'm allotted to do that."

"Where is Mewni? I've never heard of it or seen it on any maps," someone in the back of the room asked.

"That's because you're maps only show Earth. Mewni isn't on Earth. It's an entirely different dimension," Bucky answered. "And before anyone laughs, I am well aware that multi-dimensional travel is a foreign concept that, to you, only exists in fiction. It is, in fact, real, and allow me to demonstrate." Bucky took out his Dimensional Scissors and cut open a portal that led straight back to his own desk and stepped through. He had the whole class's admiration after that, and nobody had any more questions.

The first class that Bucky had was World Geography, and he was totally enamored by how diverse the various cultures around this dimension actually were. Mewni's geography was mostly mountains, foothills, and forests, so Mewmans didn't have anywhere near as many skin tones as Humans did. He was also fascinated by the technological and medicinal advancements of the country of his current residence, America. He made a mental note to talk to his parents about establishing a trade route between America and Mewni, as he thought Mewman society would benefit greatly from the machines and medicine he was learning about.

With each class that Bucky took, he became more and more interested in learning about Earth and how its different societies functioned. Star and Marco seemed to pick up on this pep in his step when he finally joined them in the cafeteria for lunch. Like her older brother, Star had also made quite the impression on her class due to her displays of magic. However, just like back on Mewni, she was shirking her studies in favor of goofing off, to both Bucky's and Marco's disappointment.

At the end of the school day, Bucky was on his way to meet with Star and Marco to ride the bus home, when he was surrounded by a small group of buff teenage boys.

"Uh...can I help you?" he asked.

"Yeah, you can help us," the apparent leader of the group replied. "You see, me and my pals are a little strapped for cash. You're a prince, right? Right. You must be rich, right? Right. Give us all your money before we beat you to a pulp." They sure didn't look like they were strapped for cash; they were all wearing what Marco called "designer clothes" and had expensive-looking accessories. Ergo, Bucky deduced that they were what Marco called "bullies," or students who preyed on other students that they saw as inferior to themselves.

"Sorry, I can't do that. Now let me pass," Bucky said gruffly and attempted to walk between two of the boys. Those two boys barred his path and pulled out baseball bats.

"We weren't asking. Fork over the money. Now," their leader ordered. Looking over one of the boys' shoulder, Bucky could see Marco starting to march toward them with a determined look on his face, only for Star to hold him back and hand him and Janna bags of popcorn. Bucky smiled.

"Okay, boys," he began. "You get one chance to walk away before someone gets hurt. If you stay, you get hurt. If any of you swings away, you get hurt. Now let me pass." One of the boys behind him swung his bat at Bucky's neck, only for Bucky to reach back and catch it. "Alright, punks. You asked for it!"

The boys tried to attack him all at once.

BIG mistake!

While they had big muscles and superior numbers, Bucky was a seasoned warrior with years of experience despite his young age. Plus, his cape hid the fact that he was built like a truck. Less than two minutes later, all of the boys were battered and bruised, their bats reduced to matchsticks. Bucky didn't even have a scratch.

"If I catch any of you stealing from anyone ever again, I'll kick your butts twice as hard! Now BEAT IT!" Bucky bellowed, and the bullies sulked away amidst cheers and applause from the other students.

"Whoa! How did you do that?" Marco exclaimed.

"I already told you, back home I'm one of the best warriors in the land," Bucky said. "Star and I used to deal with jerks like them all the time. Some of which were actually her suitors."

"Most of the nobles on Mewni are wimps!" Star added. "The two of us and most of Dad's side of the family are the most physically fit. We like to do things ourselves instead of ordering servants to do them for us. And unlike most Mewman royalty, Bucky and I actually make an effort to connect with the common folk!"

"Meaning we actually leave our castle once in a while," Bucky finished. "The other nobles may not like us much, but we're very popular among the commoners!"

"Well, good for you!" Marco congratulated them. They went over to where the bus was waiting, not noticing the group of girls that were secretly watching Bucky...

...

Back at the Diaz house, Bucky looked on as Marco played video games with Alfonso and Fergusen. Star and Janna were hanging out upstairs, doing who knew what.

"So let me get this straight: the three of you bonded through each individual's unpopularity?" Bucky asked.

"That's right. Including Janna, we're just a regular ol' band of misfits," Marco replied.

"The rest of us are misfits through everyone else's choice, but Janna is a misfit through her own choice," Fergusen explained. "She's more of a rebel, actually. We're pretty much the only Humans she's able to tolerate."

"That's not true! She likes Jackie just fine, doesn't she?" argued Alfonso.

"Who?" Bucky asked.

"A mutual friend of ours, Jackie Lynn Thomas," said Marco. "You might have seen her earlier. Cool, laid-back gal with a blue streak in her hair."

"Oh! The one you stood next to the water fountain and nodded at?"

"Yup, that's her!"

"Marco's crushing on her hard!" Fergusen said before sipping from his cup of fast-food soda.

"Dude! He didn't have to know that!" Marco protested, his face turning red.

"It's okay, Marco. My lips are sealed," Bucky reassured him.

"What about you? Any special ladies on your mind?" Alfonso asked him. Bucky's smile fell, and he sighed.

"Alas, I have no time for romance. Not until Star can perform defensive magic unsupervised, at least. Being her bodyguard is my top priority right now," he admitted.

"Dude, your life sounds boring!" Fergusen said. "As handsome as you are, you could have women crawling all over you, just like me!"

"Give it a rest, will you, Ferg?" Marco asked, rolling his eyes. "You think you're God's gift to women, but you're not!"

The smile was brought back to Bucky's face as the three friends continued to trash-talk each other. Eventually, though, Alfonso, Fergusen, and Janna all had to leave for the night, leaving Star, Bucky, and their hosts to their own devices.


This is obviously my first original, Bucky-centric chapter, and it's a little shorter compared to the previous four. Just like Cowboy Alchemist, I'll be sticking to the canon order of episodes for the most part. I'll deviate slightly if I think the story flows more smoothly if certain episodes are in a different order, and I will omit episodes that I don't think make much contribution to the plot.

Stay tuned for Matchmaker.