//------------------------------//
// Prologue: New Year, New Problems (E) 
// Story: Twilight's Duel School of Friendship: Sophomore Year 
// by k00l 
//------------------------------//

Sandbar was sitting in his room, laying down on his bed. School started back up in a week and he was excited to see his friends again. He couldn't wait to show them improvements he made to his deck. Black Luster Soldier was in the corner leaning against the wall, he was in his transparent form. Sandbar looks at his clock. It was almost 6 o'clock, almost time for them to all call each other on the crystal ball Twilight gave them. He gets down off of his bed and approaches his desk. He sits in his chair and scoots closer to the desk. Black Luster soldier looks at him as The Crystal ball sat in the middle of his desk. He gently rubs it and begins thinking of his friends, just like Twilight had instructed him. The cloudiness of the ball fades and slowly, the faces of his friends soon emerge inside the ball.

"Hey Guys! How has your summer been?" Asked Sandbar with the largest smile on his face.

"Heya! It's been GREAT! I can't wait to see you all again." Said Silverstream, being her hyperactive self.

"Me too, it was great to hang around dragons again, But nothing beats hanging out with you guys." Said Smolder, she was perhaps a bit too close to the ball as her face was a bit wide.

"So you actually have been thinking about us Smolder? That's sweet." Gallus teased with a snicker.

"Watch it buddy, you know I'm not good with my emotions." Smolder warned, her eyes narrowing.

"I can't wait for classes to start up again this year, A whole 9 months with you guys again, and all the studying!" Said Ocellus happily.

"Yona can't wait to see friends! Yona has been counting down the days till pony school opens up!" Yona exclaimed loudly. The six then begin chatting as always when suddenly the ball begins to shake, it shakes and vibrates in a way they have never seen before.

"Whoa, Are you all seeing this? What's going on with the ball?" Asked Gallus as he backed away from the ball

"I don't know, but it's happening to mine too." Said Ocellus, she leans in closer to examine the ball closer.

"We've used this many times, I have never seen it do this before." Said Sandbar. Eventually, Twilight's face begins to emerge in the ball alongside the other creatures.

"Headmare Twilight? Is that you?" Silverstream gawked as he beak gapped in awe.

"Hello you six, If it isn't obvious, I have a crystal ball as well: I kept one for myself to contact you six, in case we needed you." Said Twilight with a slight smirk.

"Contact us? For what? Doesn't school start in a week? Why not wait till then?" Asked Smolder, crossing her arms.

"Because this cannot wait till school. Throughout the summer, Me and your other professors have been working on a grand project, and we believe you six deserve to be there during its completion as you now bare the elements." Twilight informed, becoming more serious in her tone.

The six students all looked confused, they didn't understand the severity of this so called project their professors have been working on. But, if it involved the elements, then how could they refuse.

"We all have to be there? How do you expect some of us to get back to Equestria? Some of us live far away from Equestria." Gallus explained, a deapanned expression befalling his face.

"That's why your professors are on their way to collect you and bring you all to the school. From there, we are to take you to one of Equestria's most ancient and magical historical sights, Ponehenge." Twilight statement was met with mixed reactions, some becoming more confused, others looking interested.

"Ponehenge? Wow...I remember going over that in the history of Duel Monsters class. It's said the first ever Duel Monsters duel happened there." Ocellus began to smile, a little giddy about the subject.

"Precisely. It was also said to be a portal from our world, to the realm of Duel Monsters. It was also recently found out by us, to be the last stand of the Pillars." Twilight explained.

"The Pillars? Yona does not know who that is." Yona scratched the side of her head, under her horns, in confusion.

"The Pillars are ancient folktales of Equestria. But that's all they are, folk tales." Sandbar said non-chalantly.

"That's what some of us believed too, but they are real Sandbar." Said Twilight, causing sandbar to widen his eyes.

"Real??? They are real? No way." Sandbar wasn't sure he belived his headmare. The stories of the pillars were just foal tales, told to fillies and colts before bed. They were all myths... were they?

"Who are the Pillars? Not all of us are familiar with pony folk tales." Said Smolder, huffing some smoke from her nostrils.

"Right, sorry Smolder. The Pillars are a group of six ponies who lived over 1000 years ago, they came from multiple different backgrounds." Twilight began to storytell. The students lean in closer to the crystal balls so that they could pay extra attention. "They all came together, representing different traits amongst themselves. Their jobs were to protect our world from danger, sealing away many monsters. They had one last stand against a legendary enemy named, The Pony of Shadows. In this battle, The Pillars sacrificed themselves to lock away the Pony of Shadows forever. Knowing they had to sacrifice themselves, before they left for ponehenge, they left behind a seed, a seed that they all planted. This seed would grow, into the Tree of Harmony."


"Wait, so they were the ones who grew the Tree of Harmony? They made the elements!?" Asked Ocellus, both in shock and wonder.

"They didn't just make the Elements, They are the elements. Just like you six and like me and they represent the Elements, but they were the first." Twilight's statement was met with awe from the students. Their mouth left gapped, and their eyes widened.

"Whoa.... What happened to the pillar ponies?" Yona was the first to speak up.

"We don't entirely know. We have Starswirl's personal journal with us, his last entry only talks about going to ponehenge with the other pillars and that's it." Said Twilight, a slight disapointed look on her face "Me and your other professors went to ponehenge ourselves. Upon placing Starswirl's journal on one of the altars, we were able to peer into the past. What we were able to see, was the Pillars banishing the Pony of Shadows and themselves to the Shadow Realm."

This statement from Twilight left the student in emense confusion. The Pony of Shadows? Who was that? And what was the Shadow Realm? Both of these sounded pretty serious and pretty scary,

"Headmare, Who is the Pony of Shadows?" Asked Sandbar, a bit afraid of her answer.

"And what's the Shadow Realm?" Asked Ocellus, srinking back into herself, a slight look of fear in her eyes.

"The Shadow Realm is just a place in space and time where Shadow magic exists. It's the source of the power of all Shadow Games. It is a dimension between our world and the realm of Duel Monsters. And as for the Pony of Shadows, he's a nopony. He has been defeated and is likely to never come back." Twilight explained. Hoping to quell some of their fears. "Your professor's should be arriving at your residences now. This is an opportunity for you all to meet the original elements, which is the main reason I want you six there." 

"Well... Will our Parents be ok with this?" Asked silverstream.

"Surely they will, since being recognised internationally as the next generation of Element Bearers, and this is official element beare business. I hope to see you all soon." Said Twilight as her face slowly fades away from the crystal ball.

"What now?" Asked Gallus, not knowing what to do now.

"We should go ahead and prepare for the trip." Said Smolder.

"Yay! Yona gets to meet friends early!" Cheered Yona, her celebration causes her ball to be knocked over, causing her face to disappear for a moment from the ball.

"Yeah, Yona's right! We get to meet up early! I can't wait to see you guys!" Said Ocellus, looking happier than she was from before.

"You too cell, see you guys later, I gotta pack." Said Smolder, her face was the first to fade from the crystal ball.

The six eventually hop off their call and begin packing up for the trip. Thankfully, by the time the Professors show up, they were packed and ready to go. They were able to get permission from the student's guardians, and they left for Ponehenge.




The trip they all take was long, but the excitement of getting to see each other a week early was enough to make the trips worth it. Smolder and Rainbow Dash were the last ones to show up. they approach Twilight who was standing next to Sunburst and Starlight.

"Hey Twilight, we're ba-"

"HEY GUYS! I'M HERE!" Yelled Smolder, interrupting Rainbow Dash. She ran up and joins a group hug with her friends.

"Thank you Rainbow, I know the Dragonlands are far away from here." Said Twilight, turning her hear to her rainbow maned friend.

"Yeah, but why couldn't Spike go? He is more familiar with the dragons than anypony." Complained Dash, lifting her hind legs to ease some of the pain in her hooves.

"Because with his new position at the school, I left him in charge of setting up the final touches for the school this year while we try to re-summon the Pillars," Twilight explained, looking back at Starswirl's journal.

"Why didn't ya'll use the train Rainbow?" Asked Applejack. "Ya would have been more comfortable that way."

"No way, I never used the train when I got the best way of transportation on my back." Said Dash smuggily, flapping her wings for emphasis.

All the Duel Spirits were manifested, and even they began to meet up with each other and say their hellos before they are all met by the Professor's duel Spirits.
"Good to see you all again, Have you been keeping your companions safe?" Asked High Priestess of Prophecy, Twilight's guardian.

"Yes Madam, nothing malicious has been seen near them since the disaster last year." Said Black Luster Soldier, speaking nobly like a knight.

"Good, We too have not seen or heard anything suspicious either." Said Harpie Queen, Dash's guardian.

"What happened to the Big Bad Dragon deck?" Asked Gaiodiaz, scratching his chin with his massive claw.

"Since the vault was heavily damaged, the deck has been moved to Canterlot, under the personal watch of the Princesses." Said Amazoness Queen, Applejack's guardian.

"That honestly sounds much safer. Why wasn't it like that from the start?" Asked Gram.

"Kuriiiiii!" Said Kuriboh, Fluttershy's guardian.

"Yeah, Kuriboh is right, that is why." Said Madolche Puddincesss, Pinkie's guardian.

"Well, cannot argue with that, but another thing about the Princesses. Why aren't they here? They wielded the elements themselves when the Pillars went to the Shadow Realm?" Asked Gram, crossing his arms.

"The Princesses only wielded the elements, but they themselves are not bearers. Their alicorn magic allowed them to use them but they were never able to merge with them like our duelists have." Said Master Diamond, Rarity's guardian. The students were still hugging each other tightly as their duel spirits caught up.

"Yona missed you guys so much!" Said Yona, being the last one to break away from the hug.

"I missed you all as well! Not a lot of Griffs back home have any interest in Duel Monsters." Said Gallus, smiling wide.

"Same! No dagons want to play either! I'm so itching for a duel!" Smolder pouted, kicking a stone with her foot.

"Yeah! How about we all duel each other as a celebration for seeing each other again." Ocellus suggested.

"Like 1 on 1 on 1 on 1 on 1 on 1?" Asked Sandbar, scratching his head with his hoof.

"That sounds too complicated, how about a 3 v 3?" Silverstream exclaimed loudly. That was an Idea they could all agree upon, unfortunately, they would have to wait as Twilight would then call them over.

"Alright you six, we are about to bring the Pillars back with a grand spell, me, Sunburst and Starlight are working on." Twilight. began to explain slowly.

"Hi You six! It's great to meet you." Said Sunburst as he waved to the students. 

"You six along with your professors should stand back, this is gonna be an intense Spell." Starlight warned, a concerned look on her face.

The six nod and they take a few steps back with the other Professors as Twilight, Sunburst, and Starlight approach Ponehenge. One by one, All three of their horns light up. All the stones also begin to glow and shake, slowly getting more and more violent. The students step back more as the glowing gets more intense. Suddenly there was a bright magical flash, it was almost blinding. As soon as they all gain their vision back from the flash, their mouths drop as they see 6 new ponies laying down on the stones as if they are asleep. The professors waste no time in going up to them to check on them. Twilight approaches the unconscious Starswirl as he lays on the stone. Slowly he stirs and groans as he sits up as do the rest of the pillars.

"Guhhh... Where are we?" Asked Starswirl, his vision still blurry and unknowing of his current location

"Oh my Gosh, It worked! No worries Starswirl, we have taken the liberty of bringing you and the rest of the Pillars back from The Shadow Realm!" Twilight stated proudly, but this information was met with panic by Starswirl.

"What! No no no! You must re-banish us!" Starswirl begged while shaking his head.

"Huh? Why? I never prepared a spell for that, and I just wanted to bring the Pillars back." Explained Twilight.

"You can't JUST bring the Pillars back!" Starswirl looked desprate as his voice was filled with a foreboding tone.

The earth then began to shake as the students , the mane 6, and the Pillars tried to keep balance as they all turned towards the middle of Ponehenge, in the very center, a black hole emerged from nothing. From the hole, a giant hoof made of Shadows steps through it. Slowly a giant Pony, composed entirely of Shadows steps through the hole and begins laughing maniacally.

"MUHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! That was a clever trick Starswirl! But no spell can keep me locked away forever!" Yelled the pony made of shadows.

"Wh-Who is that!? Yelled Silverstream hiding behind Yona.

"Th-That must b-be...The Pony of Shadows!" Ocellus stuttered, shaking in place.

"Stand back Demon! We sealed you away once, we shall do it again!" yelled Starswirl defiantly, pointing his hoof at the Pony of Shadows.

"I don't doubt that you will be able to Starswirl, but, will you be able to without THIS!?" Yelled the Pony of Shadows as one of his Shadowy appendages darts towards him, quickly Twilight tackles him out of the way but it goes past them and strikes the journal that was sitting on the stone Starswirl was on.

"NO! That had my spell that we used to lock him away! That took me years to make!" Yelled Starswirl, kneeling over his destroyed journal.

"Hehehe-MUAHAHAHA!!! Now, I may begin shrouding the world in the Shadows, and merge the our world, with the Shadow Realm! But first, I must get rid of you Starswirl, and the rest of you pesky Pillars!" Said the Pony of Shadows as more appendages appear. They all dart towards the pillars at lethal speed. All the students close their eyes, not wanting to see the grizzly scene. But instead of hearing the Pillars get skewered, they hear multiple loud clangs. They open their eyes to see that the pillars were ok, and that 6 more Duel Spirits have emerged. Most notably Starswirl's Duel Spirit, the Dark Magician.

"GAH! How dare you! You can't hold me off forever!" The Pony of Shadows scowled.

"Oh Yes we can!" Yelled Twilight, now stepping up towards the Pony of Shadows with her Duel Spirit. High Priestess of Prophecy holds out her Tome toward the Shadowy pony as one by one, each of the mane Six step forward with their own Duel Spirit. The Pony of Shadows growls at them.

"Dude...Maybe, we should also confront him." Sandbar turned his hr\ead to his friends.

"Are you crazy!?" Yelled Silverstream, peaking her beak out from Yona's mane.

"We can't act like cowards, we are Element Bearers, just like them." Smolder huffed, glaring at the shadow pony.

Smolder was right, after taking a few deep breaths, the students call their Duel Spirits over who swiftly take a position in front of them as they approach the Pony of Shadows as well. Twilight looks to the side to see the Six standing there with them, she gives them a proud smile.

"GAH! How are there so many of you now!? How long have you sealed me away!?" Yelled The Pony of Shadows as his head scans side to side to see all the element beares and their Duel Spirits

"It's been over 1000 years monster!" Yelled Twilight, the Pony of Shadows flinches his head back upon hearing that.

"1000! Grrrrr! In my current state I cannot take you all on, you may have this small victory Starswirl, but you have not seen the last of me!" The Pony of Shadows growls.

"You're not going anywhere fiend!" Said Starswirl, but before he could react, the Pony of Shadows slowly transforms into a misty miasma and quickly darts up into the Sky. The Six students breathe a quick sigh of relief, but when they look back up, they see Starswirl looking at all of them with a furious expression.

"Do you all know what you have just done!? Do you know the kind of doom awaits Equestria if we do not re-banish him!?" Yelled Starswirl. His pupils were small and shaking, and he was breathing heavily. Despite his rage, both Sunburst and Starlight step forward.

"Hey! Don't yell at them, it was us three." Starlight protested, standing infront of the students.

"We were the ones who released you, we had no idea bringing you back would also release the Pony of Shadows." Said Sunburst.

"We thought that we could free you from your prison, and have an easy life here in modern times." Said Twilight. The Rest of the Pillars step forward, their Duel Spirits hovering just behind them, it was easy to see who they were now. Flash Magnus had Gearfried the Iron Knight. Somnambula had Gravekeeper's Chief, Mage Madowbrook had Aromage Bergamot. Mistmane had Black Rose Dragon. Rockhoof had Odin, Father of the Aesir. And Of Course, Starswirl had Dark Magician.

"Whoa...Those are some powerful Duel Spirits." Gallus said to his friends.

"You, Young one, you're able to see them?" Questioned Rockhoof pointing his hoof at the griffon.

"Y-Yes we can" Respond to Gallus, only slightly intimidated by Rockhoof's size.

"All of you can?" Asked Somnambula.

"Yes, we all can." Said Twilight. "We all are the bearers of the elements you had bestowed onto the tree of Harmony."

"Elements? Tree of Harmony?" What in blazes are you talking about?" Meadowbrook asked waising an eyebrow to the group.

"Huh? How could you not know what we are talking about!? You created the elements!" Twilight was completely taken back by the Pillar's obliviousness to the elements.

"Well, we have been sealed in a void of Shadows for a millennium." Said Flash Magnus, as he retrieved his shield.

"That... I guess that's true." Twilight sighed. "Then we have a lot to fill you in on."

"Along with an explanation for undoing my spell which sealed away the Pony of Shadows!" Starswirl sternly Stated, still obviously furious.

"We will, we will." Said Twilight with a guilty expression. "We will explain while on our way back to my Castle."

"Your Castle?" Questioned Mistmane.

"Yeah, it's not too far of a walk from here, and we can fill you in on what has happened over the past few years." Said Twilight. They Mane 6 begin to explain what has happened to the pillars along the way to the castle. The students talk amongst themselves as well, as none of them have been to Twilight's castle before. They all enter the main corridor to the castle, and approach the map that was in the center of the room.

"Marvelous, the seed we planted sprouted all of this?" Asked Starswirl, analyzing the crystal walls in amazment.

"Yes, it had to of, I can feel the harmony radiating from it." Said Somnambula, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath. 

"Then it did work!" Said Rockhoof proudly.

"My old friend. We did do it. We have kept Equestria safe for a millenia." Said Starswirl looking up at Dark Magician.

"Hm." The Dark Magician only gave him a smile.

"And now you six now wield the same powers as we have?" Asked Mage turning to the mane 6.

"Yes, we found the elements and then used them to fight off evil they had threatened Equestria. After repeated use they merged with us allowing us to see and feel duel monsters." Said Twilight, looking to her own Duel spirit, High Priestess of Prophecy.

"And these six merged as well?" Asked Mistmane approaching the students.

"Yes ma'am!" Said Sandbar with a bright smile.

"They may have merged, but they have not fully connected to the elements." Said Starswirl approaching them as well. Starswirl was a little intimidating to the students. "Though I can feel a connection with you six, your aura is weak. How is this?"

"They only became element bearers last year." Informed Twilight. That's when a massive shockwave could be felt. It shook the ground and caused every creature to stumble a bit

"Whoa! Hold on everyone!" Said Applejack trying to keep her balance. A majority of the ponies were able to keep their balance but Pinkie Fluttershy, Sandbar, and Silverstream fell over. Starswirl looks over at Dark Magician who was beginning to fade. Dark Magician looks at his own hand and then back up at starswirl. He reaches out but soon fully fades away.

"Dark Magician!" Yelled Starswirl. One by one, all the duel spirits started to fade away from the physical world.

"GRAM!" Yelled Gallus.

"By Odin's beard! Odin is gone!" Yelled Rockhoof, turning to Starswirl.

"Kuriboh!" cried Fluttershy, holding her hoof out to the area Kuriboh once was.

"What's going on!? What's happening to our duel spirits!?" Yelled Twilight, looking paniced. Soon the shaking stopped and everyone regained their balance. They looked all around them and all the duel spirits were gone.

"Starswirl, what has happened?" Asked Flash Magnus, looking all around him to find an explaination of the demanifestation of their duel spirits.

"Undoubtedly this is the work of the Pony of Shadows. He has found a place to hide and is currently drawing a ton of power from the Shadow Realm. So much so that our duel spirits cannot manifest." Starswirl analyzed.

"So Puddincess is gone!?" Yelled Pinkie dramatically, placing both hooves to her head.

"No, just unable to show herself. We must take on the Pony of Shadows or else we risk him merging our world and the world of Duel Monsters into the Shadow Realm." Said Starswirl.

"What about us?" Asked an aggitated Rainbow Dash.

"I said we didn't I?" Asked Starswirl. The Main six then smile at the pillars who in turn smile back.

"What about us?" Asked Smolder, stepping forward.
"Being children, and not fully connecting with your elements, You six stand behind us, but we shall call on you if we need it." Said Starswirl, eyeing all the students. "That means we must train you, immediately."

"Yes! We finally get to learn how to use the elements!" Said Sandbar with excitement. The students all look at each other and smile and then hoof/claw bump each other.

"I just have one question for y'all. Where are your cards?" asked Applejack.

"Cards? What are cards?" Asked Flash Magnus, giving her a weird look.

"You... don't have any cards??? Then how do you duel!?" Dash asked, while confused.

"By using the power of Harmony to summon our monsters of course." Said Mage Meadowbrook, explaining like it was common sense.

"Dash, AJ, They lived 1000 years ago. Duel Monsters were not summoned with cards back then. You six should come with us, we’ll get you all situated with your own decks so that you can duel in the modern times." Said Twilight. She and the rest of the Mane 6 lead the pillars into another room to help build their decks.

"So what now?" Asked Ocellus, turning to look at her friends

"I guess we are waiting for school now. Like they said, when they need us they will get to us." Said Gallus.

"That's true. We now have all this free time to ourselves!" Said Silverstream.

"School starts soon since it took some of us a few days to get here. We should prepare for the year." Said Smolder crossing her arms and leaning against Twilight's crystal wall.

"Friend Smolder is right. New freshmen are coming so new decks will be here!" Said Yona.

"Then we have a lot to look forward to this year at duel school!" Said Sandbar. All six then give eachother one big hive five.


End of Prologue: Welcome to Sophomore Year