//------------------------------//
// Graduation 
// Story: Live While we're Young 
// by The Blue EM2 
//------------------------------//

The stage and the seating was already set up outside the School of Friendship, and a giant projector whirred into life behind Principal Starlight as the students began to file into place in their seats.

A full year had passed since the Battle of the Bell and Twilight's ascension to the throne of Equestria. Celestia and Luna now mostly spent their time as keynote speakers on the lecture circuit, which certainly helped put more bits in the bank if nothing else (it also gave them something to do in their retirement, as retirement, in their mind, should be a chance to go out and see new things rather than simply bum about on a beach somewhere). Twilight had been a more than superb successor; with her wise and well run leadership and council, the land hadn't suffered a single monster attack or villain causing mayhem, which was quite impressive (though, of course, made a lot easier by the fact that all of the races of Equis were now friends with one another). There was even talk of fully integrating populations together; pony alongside dragon, changeling, griffon, hippogriff and yak. This, in and out of itself, was a very exciting prospect, and reduced the risk of problems and opposition to each other as supposed 'differences' could be learned about and celebrated as a point of union, not a cause for strife.

The Young Six had passed their courses with flying colours, and were now sat in the chairs alongside all the other students from their intake- the first intake three years ago or so. The last students arrived at the area, and as they took their seats, Starlight switched on the public address system and began to speak.

"Gathered students, and assembled friends and relations," she said, indicating to a separate seating area where the families and friends of the students were seated. "What a last year it has been. Whilst saving Equestria from three villains was certainly an interesting experience, it was also nice to have a first year of running the School of Friendship without any villain or evil magic interrupting. Although I have only been your headmare for one year, I have followed each and every one of you throughout the years you have been here as your guidance councilor, and how you have all grown! I have seen each and every one of you develop from adolescents into strong, mature individuals-"

"YAAAAAAAAAAY!" cried Silverstream.

"Mostly mature individuals," Starlight corrected. "Your dedication to the study and spread of friendship really is a credit to us all, and your school spirit and willingness to come together and celebrate what unites you, rather than profess what divides you, is a beacon of light for all of Equestria, and the world, to follow. Princess Twilight once said that friendship was something that needed to be shared with everycreature, not only because it makes the world a safer place, but because friendship is a good thing in and out of itself. If friends stand together, as time has proven, no evil can withstand it. And to this end it is my great honour to award our students their qualifications. We shall start with the Six who have proven, no matter the odds, friendship can blossom anywhere at any time, not to mention they have helped save Equestria on multiple occasions. Ocellus!"

Ocellus, sweating buckets because of the nerves (and the fact that the graduation gowns were so hot), got out of her seat and ascended the stairs, eventually reaching Starlight, who handed her a roll of paper.

"First," Starlight told her, with the microphone switched off.

Ocellus' nerves cleared immediately, and she trotted off down the stairs looking a lot happier.

"Next, Sandbar."

Sandbar was equally nervous, as he'd slipped up on some pieces of coursework (but then again who doesn't apart from Ocellus?). He climbed the stairs and was handed another piece of paper.

"First."

The fog of apprehension cleared over him, and he headed back to his seat with a relaxed smile on his face.

"Yona!"

The world became aware of the yak as several seats were knocked forward by her getting up and trotting over to the podium. The stairs creaked and groaned under her weight as she trotted forward and stopped. Before being handed her own piece of paper.

"First."

"YAAAY! YAKS ARE BEST!" Yona cried, and jumped into the air and landing- by falling straight through the stage. "Yona stuck down here."

"Can somepony call the crane to lift Yona out?"

After that short interruption, the remaining three members received their degrees, all of them receiving Firsts (with the exception of Gallus, who get an exceptionally high Two One). In all, it took about an hour to hand all of the degrees out, which was largely a formality as the students would also receive copies by mail (and burping dragon network). After getting the pieces of paper which proved their friendship credentials (and that Twilight's noble experiment was indeed a roaring success), it was time for the students to party.

And trust me, nocreature knows how to party better than a student (or, in this case, ex students as they had just graduated). A great stage had once again been set up, and a band had already started playing that night, so it was time for them to go crazy, crazy, crazy until they saw the sun.

Keen to get away from the sound, Sandbar and Ocellus headed away into the darkness and off towards the lake that sat near the School of Friendship, and the sight of many happy memories to boot. Once there, the pair sat by the lake and watched as the water ebbed and flowed under the moonlight.

"It must be pretty challenging moving both the sun and the moon," Sandbar joked.

"Celestia did it on her own for over 1000 years," Ocellus replied. "Twilight won't have a problem."

Sandbar suddenly stood up. "Ocellus, there's something I wanted to show you." As she looked over, he produced a box with a ring in it.

"That's beautiful!" Ocellus exclaimed. "How much did that cost?"

"It wasn't cheap, but it was worth it," Sandbar smiled. "Ocellus- will you marry me?"

Approximately 3 seconds passed before the changeling made her decision, crashing into Sandbar and knocking him over. "Yes! Yes, yes, and yes again!"

"Can you keep it down?" called Gallus. "I'm trying to propose to Silverstream here and have already been interrupted Faust knows how many times."