Twilight's Duel School of Friendship: Freshman Year

by k00l


Chapter 24: Aftermath

Chapter 24: Aftermath

The huge explosion on top of the school causes a huge shock wave all around the school. When it strikes the rampant duel monsters, it causes them to be destroyed, eventually, the shockwave sends every single student to the ground
"Holy cow! Did you feel that!?" Yelled Gallus.
"Does that mean Sandbar won!?" Asked Silverstream.
"Is Sandbar even ok!?" Yelled Smolder. Now everyone starts to panic.
"Yona and friends need to get to Sandbar! Sandbar could be hurt!" Yelled Yona.
"We need to get inside now!" Yelled Ocellus as they all turn towards the school.
"Young ones, Allow me." Said Neighsay, tapping his medallion and opening a portal. "This will take you directly to the top of the school, you 5 check on Sandbar. Brisk, Roulette, and I will asses the damage down here and calm the other students.
"Thank you Chancellor! Thank you!" Said Ocellus as her and the others run into the portal. The exit was on the roof, so as the five exit they look around, there was no sign of Cozy Glow. However, in the middle of the roof, they see all of their duel spirits, standing, some kneeling, in a circle looking down.
"Gram! GRAM! Where is sandbar!?" Yells Gallus as all of them run towards them. none of them acknowledge them as the 5 get closer. as they approach they make a horrifying discovery.

Sandbar was laying on the ground, covered in ash and bruises, his eyes were closed and he wasn't moving.
"No! No Sandbar!" Yells Yona as they all finally get to him. All of them kneel down as smolder gently lifts up his upper body and rests his back on her hand.
"Sandbar... can you hear me?" Asked Smolder, no response.
"Sandbar wake up, please!" Cried Ocellus as, again no response. As they other spirits were solid like before, Silverstream looks at Black Luster Soldier who appeared to look transparent.
"Hey, Black Luster Soldier, you're fading." Said Silverstream. Black Luster Soldier looks at his hand and his eyes widen.
"Oh no..."
"What's wrong???" Asked Gallus.
"My connection to Sandbar is fading, he....I think he is dying." Said Soldier. Almost immediately, Everyone goes from being worried, to full blown panic.
"NO! He's not dying! That's not true!" Yells Smolder.
"Sandbar wake up right now! This isn't funny!" Yelled Gallus. Ocellus puts he ear to Sandbar's chest, she could hear his heart beat, and it was getting slower and slower.
"Guys, Soldier isn't lying! His heartbeat is getting slower!" Yelled Ocellus now starting to tear up.

Gallus grabs Sandbar by the shoulder and pulls him to his face.
"No it isn't! Sandbar! Wake up right now or I will slap you!" Said Gallus, he too begins to tear up heavily. "You're not dying! You can't! You are the one that didn't give up on me when I tried to shove you out! You never stopped trying to be my friend when i told you to get lost! You can't leave us!...You can't..." Tears roll down Gallus's cheeks. After still no response from Sandbar, reality begins to hit all of them. Gallus lays sandbar back down in Smolders arms. Everyone surrounds Sandbar, Smolder's tear fall onto Sandbar's cheek, Ocellus and Yona were crying, and Silverstream buries her face into Gallus's shoulder and sobs heavily. Smolder hug Sandbar for what feels like the last time. One by one, the others do the same, hugging Sandbar close. The Duel Spirits hang their head out of respect except for Soldier. Before he was to disappear, He kneels in a knight positing, placing his hand on the sword and bows his head. before he could disappear completely , something strange begins to happen. Smolder begins to glow a a bright blue, no one noticed as they were all mourning their friend. Then Gallus glows white, then Silverstream pink, then Ocellus purple, and finally Yona Orange. By now, they all begin to notice, sitting up and looking at eachother.

"What...what is happening???" Asked Yona.
"It...it looks like the elements..." Said Ocellus. They then look down and see Sandbar begin to glow Yellow, it clicks, all of the were glowing the color in coordinate to their element.
"It has to be...It has to be the elements! I think we are doing something!" Said Smolder.
"Don't stop Hugging Sandbar!" Yelled Gallus. They all continue to hug Sandbar, even harder than before. the harder and longer they hug, the brighter they glow. eventually a huge rainbow shoots down from the sky and strikes the 6. They continue to hug until for the entirety of the event. eventually the rainbow disappears and the six stop glowing. They all slowly pull away and look down at sandbar. At first nothing happens, but eventually, he begins to twitch. Slowly, Sandbar opens his eyes. The others hold their breath as Sandbar looks at them till finally he spoke.
".....Am I in Heaven?" Asked Sandbar.
"SANDBAR!!!!!!!!" They all yell at once. Once again they all bear hug him, squeezing him tight.
"GAH!!!!!!! GUUUUUUUHHH!!!! Air....I need AIR!!!" Yelled Sandbar. The Duel spirits smile and sigh in relief. they all look at each other before Soldier stands up, returning to a solid form.
"I thought he was a goner for a second." Said insect Princess. Red-Eyes growls in agreement.
"These six have an unbreakable bond. There is no way they can be split apart now." Said Soldier.
"HAHAHA! We should Celebrate this victory!" Boasted Gaiodiaz Slapping gram on the shoulder.
"Yes, a great victory was achieved here today. Said Gram. Coral Dragon lets out a loud roar as a victory cry.

Eventually the students give Sandbar some breathing room.
"We thought you were gone Sandbar, you were dying." Said Silverstream.
"So your response was to choke me to death!?" Said Sandbar breathing heavily.
"It wasn't that bad, you should be happy we care about you so much." Said Smolder.
"We thought we weren't going to see you again." Said Ocellus.
"Don't worry guys, I'm not going anywhere yet." Said Sandbar with a smile.
"So, does this mean Sandbar won?" Asked Yona.
"Yeah, I won. It was a very close duel, but I was able to win with that card Neighsay gave me." Said Sandbar.
"Speaking of the duel, where is Cozy?" Asked Gallus. They all looked around, but Cozy was no where in sight.
"Did she get away?" Asked Smolder.
"No way, that explosion was big, she couldn't have gotten away from it in time." Said Ocellus.
"Is Cozy Pony dead?' Asked Yona.
"I have no idea." Said Sandbar. Before anyone could say anything else, Black Luster Soldier approaches the students.
"Sandbar, you dueled nobly. I am proud to be you Guardian." Said Soldier as he bowed his head. One by one, all the other duel spirits bow their head for sandbar, showing their respect.
"Wow...Thank you Soldier. But I couldn't have done it with out you. All of you. You all played a part in that victory." Said Sandbar. Soldier raises his head and smiles at Sandbar. Slowly. All the duel spirits begin to de-manifest into balls of pure light. All the lights then move towards Sandbar's duel disk before entering his deck.
"Heh, I guess that means these go back to all of you." Said Sandbar Pulling out all of his friends cards and giving them back to them.

Sandbar tries to stand, but he winces in pain. Ocellus and Gallus both help Sandbar to his hooves.
"Thanks you guys, We should head back down to the courtyard." Said Sandbar.
"Yeah, Neighsay will want an update." Said Ocellus. The six the help Sandbar down the stairs of the school and slowly make it to the courtyard, as they did, Sandbar gives them a recap of the duel. They eventually open the main door and step out into the courtyard.
"Gram destroyed one of the Dragon Rulers!? Really!?" Gallus yelled excitedly.
"Hehehe, yeah he did." Said Sandbar.
"That is awesome!" said Gallus.
"Sorry I had to use Red-Eyes as a shield Smolder" Said Sandbar.
"If he protected you, then he did his job" Said Smolder with a smile. They all look to the court yard to not only see Neighsay, But all their professors as well. As soon as Twilight saw them, her eyes widen and she rushes over to them.
"Oh Thank Celestia you guys are alright! Are you six alright!?"
"Yeah, we're fine." Said Sandbar.
"Oh Darling! You're hurt, You're hurt badly!" Said Rarity as the other Professors make their way over.
"I did what I had to, I had to stop the Dragon Rulers." Said Sandbar.
"You defeated them alone!?" Asked Dash.
"no, I had my friends best cards with me, with them, I wasn't alone." Said Sandbar.

The professors look at each other before turning their attentions back the the students.
"...sigh Sandbar. you six, you all did a noble thing, I couldn't be prouder of you. But I'm sorry you had to experience this you freshman year. We should stayed, but... we never suspected Cozy, by the time we realized this, we were stuck in Tartarus." Said Twilight.
"Don't beat yourself over it professor, we were able to handle it just fine." Said Sandbar non-clamantly. The others give him a weird look.
"Were you not just there!? You almost died Sandbar!" Yelled Smolder.
"yeah, but I didn't." Said Sandbar with a wink.
"That reminds me, How were you able to get back here so fast?" Asked Ocellus.
"There was a sudden explosion that sent a shock wave of magic. when it passed over us, my magic returned and I teleported all of us here." Said Twilight.
"It had to of been when you defeated Cozy." Said Gallus.

"Speaking of Cozy, Where is she!?" Said Dash angrily.
"We don't know, after the duel she just... vanished." Said Silverstream.
"Hmmmmm... A large magical explosion, that left no trace of Cozy. My biggest guess is that she was sent to the Shadow Realm following the defeat. Maybe the Dragon Rulers took her as punishment for her failure." Said Twilight.
"Does that mean Cozy Pony is gone forever?" Asked Yona.
"I Honestly don't know. Where is the deck?" Asked Twilight.
"It's still on the roof, we didn't want to touch it." Said Sandbar.
"Very well, We'll retrieve it later." Said Twilight. The Students notice that behind Twilight, Neighsay was talking to the Princesses, they both look very angry.

"Hey, the Princesses are here. How come?" asked Silverstream.
"tch, They're punishing Neighsay." Said Twilight with an unamused look.
"WHAT!?" yelled the students.
"Yeah, Starlight is over there explaining what happened to them. That jerk deserves every bit of punishment he gets. He wanted five of you gone just because you aren't ponies, and he indirectly caused all this by blocking you six off from protecting the vault. All of this is on his shoulders!" Said Twilight Sternly.
"NO! They can't!" yelled Silverstream.
"Huh??? Why not!?" Twilight asked in confusion. but the six push past her to get to Neighsay.
"And Finally, with all charges stacked against you Neighsay, for aiding in the release of the Dragon Rulers." Said Luna.
"And for using Shadow Realm Magic to brainwash me!" Said Starlight.
"You could face punishment of up to 10 years of Banishment on the Moon." Said Celestia.
"I understand your Highnesses. I humbly accept my punishment." Said Neighsay as he hung his head.
"WAAAAAAAIT!" Yelled Silverstream as the students approach them.

The Princesses, Starlight, and Neighsay turn their heads to look at them.
"You Can't do that to him!" Said Smolder.
"What??? You children can't be seriously defending him, after how he treated you." Said Starlight.
"He may have treated us badly, yes. But he did what he did because he felt like he was defending Equestria, not aiding in it's possible destruction!" Said Ocellus.
"But You six are element bearers. You are the protectors." Said Celestia. "if he merely gave you the chance he would have known that."
"Honestly Princess, would you honestly truly believe that a dragon, a yak, a griffon, a changeling, and a hippogriff could posses the most powerful pony magic ever and still be a freshman in duel school?" Asked Smolder with her arms crossed. Both Princess look at each other, it was honestly a good point.
"Not to mention, as soon as he realized he was wrong he was wrong, he did everything in his power to help us!" Said Gallus.
"Not-So Nasty Pony Helped Yona and Friends to fight off evil monster and protect duel students. Not-So Nasty-Pony is a hero!" Exclaimed Yona.
"And if it wasn't for Neighsay, I wouldn't have even won the duel. Neighsay gave me cards to help me in my duel, especially this one." Said Sandbar, pulling a card out and handing it to the princesses.

Celestia took it with her magic and her and Luna looked at it.
"Last Turn, this card is not available to the public because of how strong it is." Said Princess Luna.
"Yes, And Neighsay gave it to me. This card , if Neighsay had not given it to me, I wouldn't had won....I faced all four Dragon Rulers head on at the same time. If that card was not on the field when that happened...." Sandbar chokes at the thought of what could have happened. "All we're are trying to say, is if you do this to Neighsay, You are doing a disserves to everything and everyone who tried their best to protect Equestria today! If you Banish him, I will join him!"
"WHAT!?!? Yelled Twilight and the other mane five.
"Me too!" Said Ocellus.
"Me Three!" Said Silverstream.
"And Yona!" Said Yona.
"Me as well!" Said Smolder.
"And me!" Said Gallus. The Princess look at each other again. they were surprised by the six student's compassion. Slowly they turn back to them and smile.
"If everything you said is true, If Neighsay truly did help in they way you six argue, then very well. No Charges will be brought upon Neighsay." Said Celestia.

The six Cheer and hoof/claw bump each other. Neighsay look at the six in disbelief, he couldn't believe they all did that for them. He slowly approaches them and they all turn to face him.
"Children...I am touched, I really am. You brought the light back to an old mean pony's heart. I can never repay you for that.... I'm... I'm truly sorry for what I tried to do to you" Said Neighsay about to choke up. Twilight couldn't help but smile at the scene.
"However. Just because we are letting you off easy Neighsay, a Punishment is still in order." Said Luna.
"of Course Princess, Anything, I will do it." Said Neighsay.
"You are too enroll yourself in Twilight's School and intensely study on the subject of Friendship, as a Sliver Red." Said Celestia.
"A Slifer Red?..." Asked Neighsay.
"Yes, or would you rather be banished?" Asked Celestia.
".....Nope, this sounds fine. hehehe." Said Neighsay.
"Good." Celestia smiles.
"If Neighsay gets that Punishment, then so do we!" Said a voice behind the students. They all turn to see both Brisk and Roulette approaching the Princesses.

Both Brisk and Roulette approach the Princesses and then bow before them.
"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna. We would ask if you can extend this punishment to us as well." Asked Roulette.
"Why? Why would you want that?" Asked Luna. Slowly Roulette and Brisk stand up straight with a guilty look on their faces.
"Because we helped in preventing the six element bearers from protecting the deck. What Neighsay was about to be guilty of, we are guilty of it too." Said Brisk.
"We can't just stand back and not say anything... we didn't want any of this to happen....we're so sorry." Said Roulette. After thinking for a moment, Celestia speaks up.
"if this is what you wish, then very well." Said Celestia. Both Brisk and Roulette bow their heads. At that moment, Celestia and Luna turn to face the student six.

"Now, You six." Said Luna.
"We, and the world owe you an eternal gratitude." Said Celestia. " You protected us from the Return on the Dragon Rulers, and you must be awarded as such."
"Awards!? What kind of Award!?" Asked Gallus with a huge grin. Celestia chuckles.
"You are to begiven the highest honor in Equestria, the Pink Heart of Courage, and finally, Be officially recognized to all, as the next generation of bearers of the elements of Harmony." All at once, all six students begin to cheer, they highfive and hug each other. Twilight, and the rest of the mane six look on and smile, they were all proud of them. Eventually, Smolder speaks up among them.
"What do we do now?" Asked Smolder.
"Well, there is a lot of cleaning up to do, once the court yard of the school is cleaned, we can give you an award ceremony." Said Celestia.
"What about Classes?" Asked Ocellus.
"They will have to be post-poned for at least a week. After that, some classes my have to attended outside in the courtyard." Said Twilight.
"Awesome! We get a whole week off!" Cheered Gallus.
"Actually Gallus, we ALL are going to be spending the week cleaning.
"AWWW...Man!" Whined Gallus. Everyone present then begins to laugh, even Gallus started to laugh. Deep down, he really didn't care that much. As long as him and his friends were still together.

The Princess then turn and Walk twoards the mane Six to now discuss some things with them, as neighsay then approaches the student six.
"You six, You have no idea how eternally grateful I am." Said Neighsay.
"It's Fine Chancellor. You had the good of the world in mind." Said Silverstream.
"It's not just that, I'm sorry how I treated you, How I felt about you, it was truly uncalled for of me. I'm sorry to try to get you explled, and for trying to scare you away." Said Neighsay.
"Scare us away?" Questioned Yona.
"Yeah, when I cloaked myself into tricking you into thinking I was the Headless Horse. I was really expecting you to leave after that." Said Neighsay.
"Wait....THAT WAS YOU!?" Yelled Gallus
"You...Didn't figure it out yet???" Asked Neighsay
"No!" They all yelled at once.
"Oh...Hehehe. Well...I uh...Oh Look! It appears the Princess are calling me over. Bye Children! I'm so glad we were able to burry the hatchet." Said neighsay before quickly walking away towards the princesses.
"Nasty Pony was Scary Pony!?" Yelled Yona
"What a creep! That was so Scary!" Ocellus Also yelled.
"Looking back though, that was kinda funny." Said Sandbar.
"Well I'm so glad you had fun at least." Said Gallus Crossing his arms.
"Look on the bright side guys. Hopefully now, this year's Hardships are over." Said Ocellus with some relief.
"better yet, we still have eachother." Said Silverstream. They gathered around for another group hug.

End of Chapter 24