Youngblood

by Centurion Pike-Wall


Chapter 6~First Day (PT.1)

August 16, 3095 Imperial Calendar (1522 AD)
Ponyville

Scootaloo trotted down the hallway towards the room her nephews were staying in. It was the first day of school for them, and she had to make sure that they made it on time. She opened the door, saying, "Rise and shine, b-"

She was greeted with the two of them sitting on the floor, both fully dressed and playing a game with dice. They looked over at her, and Depressi said, "Good morning, Aunt Scootaloo."

"Morning", she said, eyes slightly wide. "H-how long have you been awake?"

DJ looked down at a pocket watch in his pocket, before looking up and saying, "Hour and half."

"And you didn't go make yourself any breakfast? Or anything like that?", she asked.

"We didn't want to wake you", Depressi said. "I told you that we wake up earlier than Equestrians, and we didn't know if you'd still be asleep."

"Oh, ok then. Well, in that case, go make yourself some toast or something. We'll head to Twilights school in about twenty minutes."

++++~++++

Just outside of Ponyville stood a massive building. It was made out of dark red brick, shaped also like a massive brick. The roof was flat and white, with a series of gutters along the edge. A bridge ran over a river in front of the entrance, with a series of stairs and columns leading up to the front door. Three stories of windows lined the outside, with faint shapes moving inside. A pair of buildings stood on either side of the main building, standing out like the towers on a castle; A theater and a gym, if Depressi recalled the map correctly. Above the bridge was a large sign, saying: PONYVILLE REGIONAL JUNIOR UNIVERSITY.

"Alright, here we are", Scootaloo said. "Enjoy your first day. I'll see you after school."

"Vale, Aunt Scootaloo!", Depressi called back to her as he and his brother made their way over the bridge. She waved again, before turning and heading back into town. As they headed along the path, he asked DJ, "So, ready to go back to school?"

DJ said, "Not really, but I guess I don't have a lot in choice in the matter, eh?"

"Oh, don't be like that", Depressi said with a smirk.

"You know my opinion on the subject of school. Now, which way to the theater?", he asked.

The two got to the top of the stairs, right in front of the main entrance. The two of them saw a large amount of ponies heading off to the western side of the campus. Not really knowing where else to go, the two of them followed the flow of students.

They arrived outside one of the large buildings on the sides of the campus. A sign saying THEATER hung over the entrance, and several tables set up outside with ponies wearing name tags behind them. A queue of pony students stood in front of them, along with signs with name coordinators. The two of them entered the first line and waited as the line moved up.

After about five minutes, they reached the front. The teacher who greeted them, a peach pink pegasus mare with a curly ice blue mane, said, "Oh, you must be some of the foreign-exchange students! Hi, I'm Cozy Glow, one of the equish teachers and the head of the school's Chess club!"

As Depressi shook her hoof, he said, "Salve, Mulier Glow. Yes, that's us."

"Great! I think this is a great idea, for the record", Cozy said. "Now, I need your names."

"I'm Depressi Tonituro, and this is my brother DJ", Depressi said, before leaning forward a bit. "Well, that's not what's likely on the slip, but just show me, and I'll point it out."

Cozy shook her head and replied, "Oh no. Your mom registered that in the form. We know his full name in case we need it, but DJ is on all the forms."

DJ, who had been listening to the conversation, said, "Good."

"Ok, here it is. Here are your schedules and a pair of maps of the school." As she handed them each a pair of papers, she said, "Head inside and sit down in the very front block of seats on the far left of the lower part of the theater. That's where the exchange students are asked to sit for this assembly. The headmistress will be along in about half an hour to have the assembly. Have a nice day!"

"You too", DJ said.

"Likewise", Depressi said.

The two of them headed inside, again following the crowds of ponies. The two of them entered the theater, looking up at the massive room filled with seats. On the opposite side of the entrance was a stage, with a large screen and a projector on a stand resting on it. Many of the seats they could see were occupied by ponies, with even more pouring in behind them. As the two of them headed towards the front, they noticed a few ponies looking their way.

The two of them arrived in the front, spotting the block of seats Cozy Glow was talking about. It was occupied by several other creatures besides ponies; a pair of zebras, a yak, a few other ponies wearing distinctive clothes or chatting amongst themselves in distinctive accents, a few griffons, a kirin, and even a changeling. The two of them took a seat on the edge of the block, placing their saddlebags next to them and reclining as much as their seats could.

A few minutes passed, and the number of ponies entering the theater slowed down to a trickle. Finally, after about ten minutes from them entering, no one new was entering the theater. After another few minutes, they saw a lavender-colored unicorn mare with a dark purple mane with a pair of different colored streaks entered the stage. She had her hair running straight down her back, a pair of big glasses, and had her hind legs bound up in a wheelchair. After a bit of struggling to get the wheels to roll properly on the stage, she arrived at the center of the stage and cleared her throat. Amplified by magic, the sound carried across the theater, and everyone inside quieted down.

"Alright then!", she said. "Hello, everypony, and welcome to a new year! For those of you who aren't familiar with me, my name is Headmistress Twilight Sparkle. I hope we will have a wonderful year here at Ponyville Regional, and I will do my best to achieve that aim. Now, before we proceed with the typical parts of the welcome spiel, I'd like to make a special announcement."

She reached back onto her chair, fumbling around for something. She eventually pulled out two pieces of paper and a pencil. After looking at a big piece of paper and swiping the pencil over something on it, she lifted up the flashcard and adjusted her glasses. "This year, with a special subsidy from the EEA chairspony Celestia-By her, that's still awkward to say-I'd like to welcome the students from the first-ever International student-exchange program!" After a few seconds, she said, "Now, I'd like to make this clear. The purpose of this program is to help us learn about new cultures, ways of life, and build a sense of international friendship. This is NOT to make one system out to be better, or whatever xenophobic tripe comes out of SOMEponies these days..."

"Hey!", one of the griffon students yelled. "Tripe's good!" Despite the implied message the comment sent, a wave of laughter rippled up the audience.

Twilight seemed to stand in place and twitch for a moment, before taking a deep breath and exhaling. She said, "Thank you, Miss Gertrude. As I was saying, before I was interrupted, this is about learning about others and forming bonds of friendship. So, I will not be tolerating any bullying of the exchange students, just like I won't for any Equestrian students. Now, onto the regular items of the school year."

"So", DJ whispered to his brother. "How long do you think that she'll prattle on for?"

Depressi replied, "I've met her before. At Aunt Scootaloo's wedding. She can be a bit rambly, but if she stays on track, we shouldn't be here all that long."

++++~++++

After about another hour of her talking, she finally said, "Ok then! That's everything. Remember, today is a minimum day. So, as opposed to the typical release time of three-fifteen, shortened periods and a lack of a proper lunch will result in a release time of twelve-forty five. Or, well, after this assembly, about two 'O clock. Thank you, and have a nice day." After a few seconds of everyone looking around, she said, "T-that means you can leave to go to your first period."

Everyone began to filter out of the exit, Depressi and DJ one of the last. After getting outside, Depressi said, "Alright then. I got mathematics first period. You?"

"Biology", DJ replied.

"Alright. I'll meet you in the... the center court of the school at brunch. See you then. Vale", he said.

DJ said, "Vale." The two of them parted ways, heading off towards different parts of the school.

Depressi followed the map, using notable landmarks around the school or room numbers to guide his way to school. After a bit, he heard a loud bell sound, reverberating down the hall. He broke into a loping stride, familiar with what the noise meant from his own school. He arrived at the end of the hall, spotting the room number he was supposed to be at.

Opening the door, he was greeted with a typical classroom, not all that different from his own back in Creui. Rows of desks, a chalkboard at the other end, and a few shelves with work supplies around the room. He scanned the room of open desks, spotting one near the front rather quickly. However, as he made his way over to it, he saw a faint purple aura form around the seat of the desk. Looking to the desk next to it, he saw a pale grey-ish unicorn mare with a dark purple mane and a cutie mark of a trio of pearls joined by gold chains. Fitting, seeing as she was adorned with such jewels in her mane, around her neck, and around her legs. She said, "Sorry dearie. But, this seat is taken."

"I don't see any bags by it", Depressi countered.

However, she was adamant in her position. "This. Seat. Is. Taken. Get that through your thick skull, and go find somewhere else to sit.", she said, waving her hoof towards the back of the room, by the door.

Turning around and looking where she gestured, he spotted Southern Rose, who had, in turn, spotted him. He made his way to the back, sitting down next to her. She said, "Hey."

"Salve", he replied. "What's with her?"

"High Society", she said. "Daughter of a big-shot Manehatten business pony and Mr. Rich's ex-wife. She just comes here cause it's a nice school. And ah have a theory that her parents just want some time alone."

"Ah", he mouthed, before reclining in his seat.

After a few minutes, the second bell rang, and the teacher, a pale pink mare with a dark pink mane and a cutie mark of a rising sun, entered the room. As she did so, Depressi stood up, saluting and saying, "Ave, Teacher." The teacher froze and stared at him, and after a second he realized that everyone else was doing the same. "Eh heh. Sorry. It's just what we do in Pryha."

"Oh, no no", the teacher said. "I was told about it, and since it's your first day, that's to be expected." As Depressi sat down, she made her way to the front and wrote her name on the chalkboard. "Hello, everyone. My name is Miss Morning Glory, and I'll be your math teacher for this school year. I hope you like the seats you have, as they will be your seats for the first quarter of the school year. Now, first I need to do roll-call, then I'll pass out and we'll go over the syllabus."

As she began to rattle off names, Depressi used the time to scan the room. He noticed a few of the other ponies giving him looks; most of them being merely curious, but a few were simple odd looks, and even one or two were of suspicion. Another thing he noticed was that the seat that High Society said was occupied was unclaimed. He sighed, before pulling out and arranging his pen. This was gonna be a long school year.