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// School: Day 1 
// Story: Vacant Niches 
// by Jongoji245 
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For reasons you cannot describe, it was a rooster’s call that got you to open your eyes. You groan as you shift your head to your right. It took you a long while before realizing something you forget: you didn’t set up your alarm clock.

“Oh, son of a-!” You jump off your bed, rush to the bathroom, stuff that toothbrush in your mouth and rush downstairs. “Mom! Why didn’t you wake me up?!” Forgetting your pants, you run upstairs and put on some cargo shorts. You hear a sarcastic voice from your mother, but are so busy getting yourself prepped up it didn’t matter. “Sorry, I’d love to talk, but I don’t want to be late!”

“Then I think you don’t want your lunch now?”

You stop, plodding back to the kitchen and gave your mother a blank look.

“Thanks.” You said before grabbing the lunch bag and run out. 





You didn’t have time to unhitch your bike, and so you continue running. Not used to the upland region you live now, it doesn’t take you long before starting to tire and your feet hurt. 

“Why didn’t I just set up my clock when we got here!?”

You are just about to pass an enclosed parking space when you see a few kids gathered in one place. They tug and push at each other as they appear to fight over something. Hearing a soft whimper, you are placed on alert.

“Hey!” You rush at the group of kids, getting them to run away. 

What they left behind is a small dog; violet in fur with a green belly, hair tuft, and ears, you sit down and gently lift the pup. He, as you confirm by accidentally looking under his fat belly, opens his green eyes. As he starts wagging his tail, your brain reminds you on your lateness. You jump to your feet and rush out the parking lot. 





Turning a few corners and around a construction site, you find the building your classes are held. It’s a massive building, larger than the one you saw a day ago, and definitely so than your elementary school. You begin to go around the horse statue when you hear a small yelp. You turn around and see the same dog you just rescued.

“No!” You point at the ground. “Stay!” You hear a small jingle as you move to the stairs. “Stay!” But the dog just comes toward you. With a groan, you pick up the dog and carry it to the horse statue. “You stay! I go! No following!”

You walk backward, keeping a close eye on the dog. The mutt not moving an inch, you turn around and enter the building. Fitting for a large building, the lobby you enter is massive. To your left and to the right are trophy cases. You decide to take a look at the gold trinkets; this is one competitive school if the so-called Wondercolts won several first place trophies with occasional second place medals. But your little safari is interrupted when the hall echoes with rapid breathing.

“Oh for God’s sake!” You scream through your teeth, seeing the dog wag his tail as he places a paw on your shoe.

In sync with the bell ringing, a door opens swiftly, knocking you to the smooth floor. You cover your head, praying you won't be trampled by your classmates. You open one blue eye; they are not in any rush as they walk around you. You get up, looking at every classmate big and small.

“Excuse me.” 

You look down, finding a boy around Dapplewood's height with a color scheme that reminded you of a cow. You begin to walk forward, colliding with a taller girl with red hair, amber eyes, denim jacket, and a pink bow on her head. Next to her are two other women her age; to your left was one with a skin color like a marshmallow and bicolored hair of two shades of violet, the other had much shorter violet hair than the others and wore more sporty clothes.

“Pardon.” 

They walk around you. You look at the one with the bow, how the shade of pink reminded you of the blur that rode by you yesterday. You look forward again before colliding with a much wider classmate. You collapse once more, turning your head to see this fatter student, a blue-skinned boy with orange hair walking with his more slender friend. Baring your teeth, you look forward; the same piebald girl you see yesterday walks towards you with an ever taller male wearing Western-style clothes including a blue-green hat. Unlike the other classmates, the girl lifts her leg to step over you. You dare to look up, but seeing you get an idea, the tall male keeps his eye on you. As they walk to the other side of the hall, you stand up.

“Walking backward, huh?” You look forward again, seeing another girl, this time a stout individual with violet hair, walking around her. “Well let me know if that gets you there any faster.”

As the crowds cease the bell rings again. With the dog always coming to you, you have to come to do the unexpected. You unzip your backpack, pick up the dog, stuff it in your backpack, and rush to your first class: Algebra 1. When you reach for your backpack, the puppy hands you the book. Not that you are ungrateful, but when the teacher, Square Root by name, enters the room,  you push the dog by the head and close the backpack. As your teacher goes about with his lecture, you try your best to keep the animal quiet by rubbing the bag with your foot.





A few classes later and you land in the most unlikely class you’ve ever enrolled: dance class. Sure, dancing would help you impress the ladies and get a few friends. But the downside that will make you go through hell is what you wear: a black leotard that left your arm, legs, and neck exposed to the wind. In the gymnasium, you shiver like crazy as you and your partner, a Junior brunette with glasses and dog paw earrings. Your classmates include the redhead you saw earlier today alongside an older boy whose color scheme reminded you of her more sporty friend.

“Okay, class.” You look to your teacher, Hoofer Steps, motioning you all to come to her. “I vant you to practice a three-step dance. Ve’ll start slow then build up tempo, yes.” 

Your head follows the dance instructor to a radio; what you expect a loud metal song is instead a slow tempo music that reminds you of a Spanish soap opera you would watch as a kid. Without warning, your dance partner grabs you, holds you close, and begin the dance. At first, the size difference is no problem, but as Hoofer Steps increases the tempo, you find your feet no longer touching the ground. In the time that the other dancers get their partners into a spin, Zipporwhill actually sends you flying headfirst to the folded bleachers. You rub your head as multiple duplicates of your teacher and classmates approach you.

“Oh my goodness, are you okay?” Zipporwhill asks, holding her hands to her mouth.

“Maybe I should transfer to gym class…” You groan.

As you change your clothes and leave for lunch, you hear heavier footsteps from behind. You stop, turn around, and yelp, landing rear end on the hard floor. It’s the redhead you met twice now stretching her hand. She pulls you up before reaching her pockets. Assuming the worse, you begin to curl back.

“Do these belong to you?” What she presents to you are your keys. Whether it was Big Mac or the nice lady who fished it out, it didn’t matter as you collect your collection of shiny objects.

“Thanks.” You notice an emblem on the left side of her jacket, seeing a silhouette of a fruit. “So, you’re Apple Bloom?”

“Yessum.” She stretches her hand again, this time allowing you to hold it. “Enjoying your first day here?”

“Well, I would if it wasn’t for that-” You find your backpack much lighter than usual. It even feels lighter when you bring the sack around you. The dog is gone. “Oh, slag muffins!”

You run towards the lobby, giving out several loud whistles. Rushing corner after corner, you suddenly bump into a larger individual. Compared to the few teachers you encountered in this school, this one appeared to be a middle-aged bald man. He held the purple and green dog as he held a black, furry thing in his mouth.

“You!” Cranky points at you before pointing behind you. “To the Vice Principal’s office!”

You gulp… Twice… and follow the direction pointed for you. Your first day in High School and you're already being sent to the Vice Principal’s office. Why not the just the Principal’s office you do not know, and frankly do not care. You drag your feet, making everyone look at you with confused faces. One such crowd you attract, you follow their casted shadows. Cosgrove, along with four others you’ve met today and yesterday.

“Hey, Anon.” Cosgrove greets as he walks beside you. “Why are you slouching?”

You look up with frustrated yet sad eyes. “I got sent to the Vice Principal’s office because of some stupid dog.”

You and your friends hear the PA system buzz.

“Anon, please report to the Vice Principal’s office. Anon to the Vice Principal’s office.”

You look at Cosgrove once more, who points in your general direction.

“Down the hall and to your left, when you go inside, her office is to your left.”

You go down the hallway, finding the door to the Principal’s office. You enter the L shaped room; there is a desk between the two offices, yet there isn’t a secretary. You look to your left, feeling smaller as you approach the doors to the Vice Principal’s office. As you raise your fist, you notice the letters replace and rearrange themselves.



Abandon all Hope, Ye who Enter Here.



You gulp one more time, collecting what little courage you have to knock.

“Come in.” You open the door, looking inside with your baby blues. Compared to the classrooms, this room was very dark, with only the highlights of window blinds providing illumination. This is indeed a place a student wouldn’t want to enter for even one bad prank. Behind the desk, a tall, black chair rocked back and forth. “Please, sit down.”

Without her asking twice, you sit down at the diminutive desk. The chair spins slowly, revealing a woman with blue skin and hair of two shades of darker blue. And with the clothes to match her biology, she blends very well with her dark chamber. 

“Now, may I ask why you brought an animal here?” She asks, intimidating you by sitting upright.

“Well…” You know why the dog is here, but the mood of the room made you nervous. Tapping your fingers, your eyes shift around before focusing on the nameplate. “Mrs. Luna,” - You see the Vice Principal raise an eyebrow - “Ms. Luna?” She lowers her brow. “The dog followed me here; he’s not mine.” The principal narrows her eyes, not that it matters as you look around. “Shouldn’t the Principal be here?”

“That’s out of the question!” you cringe at the outburst while Luna moans, pinching her temple before standing up. “You are new here, so I will let you off with a warning. But if I see you again in this one week, you won’t be that lucky. Now, get out.”

“(Don’t have to ask me twice!)” Your mind screams as you rush out of the office.





A few hours later, and you are released from school. You do have one homework assignment, but it appears to be simple math. Of course, getting home without your bike will take a while. You open the front doors, take a sniff of fresh air and turn to your left.

“Shining Armor will expect a long answer from you.”  

You stop, turning your head slightly at the sound of Cosgrove’s voice.

“Look, I’m sorry.” 

You hear a rather younger voice, a mixture of a boy and a girl. You hug the wall, getting a good view of Cosgrove in a yellow-green cloak covering much of his body.

“I don’t care if you're just playing innocent,” He reveals his right arm, pointing at someone “never have a new student take the blame for you, is that-”

“Cosgrove?” You reveal yourself to him and, odd enough, the dog that caused you so much trouble. You look around again before asking, “Who are you talking to?”

“No one.” Cosgrove bends over and picks up the dog. “I’m taking Spike over to Shining Armor. He shouldn’t give you any more trouble for the rest of the year.”

As you and Cosgrove part ways, a thought occurs in your head, making you turn around.

“Hey, what happened to the Principal?”

You see that you got Cosgrove to stop, but not get him to turn around.

“I wish I knew.” Is all he says before continuing his walk.

Not the answer you want, you shrug your shoulders and continue your journey home. At you pass a television shop, your eye catches something on the many screens. It’s an evening setting, with several panning shots of a group of heroes, five of whom are beastly, fighting a dark, winged figure. Outnumbered, the dark being flies away, pursued by a six-winged reptile. It cuts to another channel, making you grimace.

“Must be a new tv show coming up.” You assume, continuing your walk home, get your homework done, and sleep for another day.