Twilight's Duel School of Friendship: Sophomore Year

by k00l

Chapter 16: Long Black Train

The six were on the train, heading directly back to Ponyville, the train was crowded with a lot of ponies sitting and talking to each other. Gallus had just gotten off the call with Silverstream and informed them all of what she said. More Element Bearers have lost their duels, even though the elements have won more duels than the Shadow Riders, just losing one element is far too many. Everyone sat in the same booth so that they all could discuss amongst each other till they got there.
"We're still another 2 hours till we get to Ponyville, you three keep your decks close, That Shadow Rider that attacked your professors still hasn't been captured." Said Starswirl.
"This is insane! How did two Shadow Riders sneak in without alerting anyone and beating two of our professors!?" Asked Gallus.
"We have been on a win streak for awhile now, it was a matter of time we started weeding out their worst duelist. I guess all that is left is their top tier duelist and now...their weeding us out." Said Rockhoof.
"Oh no...That's not good! That's really not good!?" Said Sandbar as he began to panic.
"Shhh young one, as long as one of us still stands, then we have a chance." Said Somnambula.
"Somnambula is right, we can't lose hope just yet." Said Smolder.
"Unfortunately, Somnambula is wrong." said Starswirl bluntly.

Everyone's heads all quickly turn towards starswirl who was looking out the window with an impatient expression.
"Six of us need to stand tall, more specifically, six who each represent each element." Said Starswirl. "If three of us go down who all bear the same element, we cannot access the full power of all of them. The Elements of Harmony were meant to work together, as one, not separately. When the Pony of Shadows decides to attack, he will be at full power, so do we. If we are one element short..." Starswirl turns his head to look at the group. "We will all be doomed." This left a pit in the student's gut as they all slumped back in their seats. the weight of the situation was starting to get to them.
"We can't think pessimistically Starswirl. Doing so will only hinder us." Said Somnambula.
"But we need to think practically. If we go on about like nothing is as serious as it is, like we have been doing, we will get sloppy and we will fail! if we fail too many times... Equestria, Griffonstone, Mt. Eris, All the lands will be covered in the Shadows for all eternity!" Yelled Starswirl getting extremely agitated.
"That's enough Starsirl, my friend. We can't start turning on each other like this." Said Rockhoof.

Starswirl glares at Rockhoof before turning his head to look back out the window. Somnambula had her head hung after being chewed out by starswirl. She however takes a deep breath and perks herself back up. Rockhoof clutches his shovel close to him, he was a little twitchy as if he was ready for any kind of action. The students however, were silently panicking to themselves, even Smolder. Sandbar felt his throat getting tight, he felt like crying his eyes out, but he resisted it. Gallus's feathers were puffed out and he was trying to keep his breathing at a normal pace. Smolder pulled her knees to her chest and held them. Her mind was both on the situation, and that dragon Shadow Rider. Something about him seemed so odd, yet so familiar.Smolder and Dragon Lord Ember were pretty much the only other dragon duelists with some serious skills. Not only that, the way the dragon spoke was weird, theit was all so strange. While everyone sat quietly to themselves, it was Sandbar who first spoke up, as he noticed something really, really strange.

"...Uh guys... where are the other passengers?" Asked Sandbar. Slowly all of them began to look around, in fact, every single passenger who was once there, was gone.
"What is the meaning of this?" Asked Rockhoof, frantically looking around.
"It is a trick, by the shadows." Said Starswirl.
"Did we even get on the right train?" Asked Smolder.
"I'm not sure." Said Gallus.
"We got on the bright pink train didn't we?" asked Sandbar.
"No, the train we got on was all black." Said Somnambula. At that moment, it clicked for Starswirl.
"This train was a trap! Quickly everyone, we must get off!" Yelled Starswirl as he stood up. Just then they all felt a cold breeze.
"We may not be given the choice to get off." Said Somnambula.
"Split up! Find a Shadow Rider and confront them! It is the only way we will be able to get off!" Said Starswirl.
"Sp-Split up!" Protested Gallus. "Didn't you just say the elements work better together!?"
"We are not facing the Pony of Shadows yet, just his good for nothing goons. Besides it's a train, we will run into each other again! Sonnambula, Sandbar, with me. Rockhoof, you take the other two towards the front of the train!" Said Starswirl.
"Aye!" Said Rockhoof.

"They split into their groups as Starswirl's group runs to the back, and Rockhoof's run to the front. They all passed empty seats, it was very unsettling.
"Where are we going Rockhoof sir?" Asked Smolder as she ran behind Rockhoof.
"To the engineer! We got to see if we can stop the train!" Said Rockhoof. The three go through train car to train car trying to reach the front. Eventually they bust through the last car and are at the coal cart. Come on, I'll help you two up and then we can get to the engineer!" Rockhoof helps the two students up onto the coal cart. their claws getting covered in soot. Rockhoof then climbs on, and they can see the engineer at the engine shoveling coal inside. He had his back turned to them and he didn't speak.
"Aye! You! You need to stop the train!" Yelled Rockhoof. The Engineer stops what he is doing, he takes off his hat to reveal jet black hair, and slowly turns to reveal he has a mask on.
"No!" Yells Gallus. Rockhoof stays where he is and takes a defensive stance.

The Engineer fully turned around, his coat was gray, parts stained black with coal soot. He had an evil smirk on his face and the shadows slowly began to form around him.
"I should have guessed a Shadow Rider would have been driving the train, Who are you!?" Demanded Rockhoof.
"You can just call me End. And it will certainly be your end, Rockhoof." Said End.
"Well well, Other than Enigma and Eclipse, you’re one of the only Shadow Riders to address one of us by name." Said Rockhoof.
"Well, I'm more professional than my other inferior comrades." Said End now stepping onto the coal. The Shadows already formed onto his wrist to form a duel disk. "Now Please, I want to get this over with quickly."
"Aye!" Said Rockhoof. He folds his shovel in half and then is able to extend the shovel head, forming his own duel disk.
"Whoa...that is a little cool." Said Gallus

"DUEL!"

[Rockhoof Vs. End]

"I will start this duel off, I draw." Said Rockhoof. "I activate the field spell The Nordic Lights!" Above them, an Aurora Borialis forms and glistens beautifully. "With this card, no Nordic card can be destroyed by battle. Now I will summon Tanngrisnir of the Nordic Beasts! {1200atk. 800def. Lv3} Now that I have a Nordic monster on my field, I can special summon from my hoof, Nordic Smith Ivaldi! {1500atk. 700def. Lv4}. Now When Ivaldi is normal or special summoned, I can take one Nordic relic from my grave, and add it to my hoof. I choose to add Nordic Relic Draupni to my hoof, Now, I end.
"My turn, I now draw." Said End. "Heh, I activate Cyber Emergency. This card allows me to add Cyber Dragon from my deck to my hoof. Now, since you control a monster, and I don't, I can special summon Cyber Dragon from my hoof! {2100atk. 1600def. Lv5}"
"Gah! A Cyber Dragon deck!" Yelled Gallus. The Purple mist then starts to surround them.
"Cyber Dragon, Attack his Nordic Beast!" Commanded End. Cyber Dragon reals his head back before unleashing a large blast of lightning from its mouth and striking Tanngrisnir. Rockhoof winces as he loses the life points, but the Nordic Lights above them begin to shine brightly, indicating its effect is protecting the card from being destroyed. "I end my turn by placing one card face down."

[Rockhoof 4 cards/ End 4 cards]

[Rockhoof 3100/ End 4000]

"Aye Lad, You ain't no push over like the other Shadow Riders, you got skills." Said Rockhoof.
"Indeed." Said End.
"However, it's my turn now. I draw!" Said Rockhoof. "I now activate the equipment spell Nordic Relic Draupni! By equipping it to my Ivaldi. This gives him 800 extra attack points making him 2300! Now He will attack your Cyber Dragon!"
"Hold it!" Yelled End. "I activate my face down Cybernetic Revolution! I tribute my Cyber Dragon on the field to special summon one Cyber Dragon Fusion card from my extra deck! I summon Cyber Twin Dragon! {2800atk. 2100def. Lv8 Fusion}."
"Dude, no way!" Yelled Smolder. "This guy is always one step ahead!"
"Hrg! Then I will not continue with my attack. I set two cards and end." Said Rockhoof.
"Draw!" Said End. "By the end of this turn, my Cyber Twin Dragon will be sent to the graveyard, but he will have his uses while he is here. Since Cyber Dragon is now In my graveyard, I will activate the Cyber Repair Plant Spell card! This allows me to add one Light Machine Monster from my deck to my hoof, I add a second Cyber Dragon! Now My Cyber Twin Dragon will attack your Ivaldi!" One of the Heads of Cyber Twin Dragon Fires lightning bolts from its mouth that strike Ivaldi, Rockhoof winces again, but the monster is not destroyed. "Now, Cyber Twin Dragon's effect kicks in, allowing him to make a second attack, attack his beast!" The Second head fires its electricity and strikes Tanngrisnir. This Time, Rockhoof is struck so badly he almost stumbles to the ground.
"Rockhoof!" Smolder yells out. Slowly, Rockhoof regains his footing, not backing down for a second.
"Hm, I end by placing one card face down." Said End, as he ended, his cyber twin dragon groans before collapsing to the ground and is destroyed.

[Rockhoof 1000/ End 4000]

[Rockhoof 2 cards/ End 5 cards]

Rockhoof was panting hard, he had taken a lot of damage, but he needed to be strong, not just for the students , but for the world. He closed his eyes and slowly began to glow. This caused both Smolder and Gallus to smirk, as Rockhoof began to call upon his Element. When Rockhoof opened his eyes, they were glowing.
"As long as I stand, you shall not win Shadow!" Rockhoo called out in a booming voice. He stomps his front hoof hard and crumbles a bunch of coal under his hoof. End only smirked evilly at him.
"The fun has begun," Said End.
"I draw!" Yelled Rockhoof. "I activate my face down, Gleipnir, the Fetters of Fenrir! This allows me to bring one Nordic monster from my deck to my hoof! I choose Vanadis of the Nordic Ascendant who I now Summon! {1200atk. 400def. Lv4} Now I activate her effect by sending one card from my hoof to the grave, I send Tanngnjostr of the Nordic Beasts to the grave. He was a level 3 monster, now Vanadis becomes a level three monster, Now I tune for 10, Synchro Summoning Odin, Father of the Aesir! {4000atk. 3500def. Lv10 Synchro}"
"Holy cow! 4000 attack! This is it! When he attacks directly he has won!" Yelled Smolder.
"Finish this Rockhoof!" Yelled Gallus. Odin Stands protectively in front of Rockhoof.
"Ready to end this old friend?" Asked Rockhoof. Odin looks back and nods at him. "Odin! Attack this shadow directly and end this!" Odin Lifts up his staff and prepares for his attack and rushes End. End's smirk grows bigger as he prepares to prevent his loss.
"No Rockhoof! I activate my quick effect spell, Cyber Eternal!!!" Yelled End.
"What does that do!?" Demanded Rockhoof.
"I target one Machine 'Cyber' Fusion monster in my graveyard and I can special summon it!" Said End. "I summon back my Cyber Twin Dragon!"
"Then he shall fall! Continue your attack Odin!" Yelled Rockhoof. Twin Cyber Dragon returns to the field and roars. Odin places the tip of his staff onto the dragon's chest and a magical blast tears a hole in it. It roars in pain and is destroyed.

[Rockhoof 1000/ End 2800]

[Rockhoof 2 cards/ End 4 cards.]

Odin Returns to Rockhoof's side of the field and stands in front of Rockhoof.
"You best surrender now, No monster has ever beaten over Odin, Never!" Said Rockhoof.
"Then watch as I make history! I draw!" Said End. "First I activate the spell Cyber Revsystem! This summons back my Cyber Dragon in my graveyard. Now Rockhoof, Your doom! I activate the spell Power Bond!"
"Power Bond? What kind of card is that?" Asked Gallus.
"I don't know, I've never heard of it." Said Smolder.
"This card allows me to fusion summon one card from my extra deck by using material on my field, and my hoof. And I have 2 more Cyber Dragons in my hoof." Said End. Rockhoof's eyes widened.
"Wait....." Said Rockhoof, realizing something.
"I Fusion summon the Cyber End Dragon!!! {4000atk. 2800def. Lv10 Fusion}"
"NO WAY!!! It also has 4000!" Yelled Gallus.
"It's not done! LOOK!" Yelled Smolder pointing at the dragon. Cyber End Dragon let's out a loud roar as an aura surrounds it.
"Power Bond also has a second effect, The fusion monster used to summon it, has it's attack doubled for this turn! Making my Cyber End Dragon 8000!" Yelled End.
"8000!?!?!?" Smolder and Gallus yell at the same time. Rockhoof slowly lowers his head.
"Goodbye Element! Cyber End Dragon! Destroy!!!" Commanded End. Cyber End Dragon uses all three of it's heads to power up, then they both simultaneously fire a huge bolt of Lightning at Odin. Odin lets out a pained yell before being destroyed and Rockhoof being flown backwards by the explosion.

[Rockhoof vs. End: Winner End]

"ROCKHOOF!!!" Yells Smolder as she and Gallus run towards him, but the shadows block them.
"No! NONONO! Rockhoof!" Yells Gallus as he tries to break his way in. Rock hoof slowly sits up and looks at the kids.
"...It's going to be ok you two." Said Rockhoof.
"No it's not! You're going to lose your soul!" Cried Smolder.
"Aye, but you two will be fine. Hope is in your hooves now." Said Rockhoof with a slight smile. "Starswirl will protect you." Before he could say another word, The Shadows Dart into his mouth and into his eyes.
"NOOOOO!!!" Yelled Smolder as tears now form in her eyes. It doesn't take long for Rockhoof's body to go limp. End then begins to laugh maniacally.
"The pillar of strength could defeat me. You all are doomed." Said End. Just then, Starswirl, Somnambula, and Sandbar run through the car behind them and stop at the coal car. They were too late.
"You Three! What happened!?" Yelled Starswirl, but soon they all realize what had just happened. Somnambula covers her mouth with her hoof out of shock, and Sandbar's jaw drops to the floor. "...no....No....NOOO!!!" Yelled Starswirl as he fires a magical blast from his horn at End. The Shadows distort his body, causing the blast to miss him. End Chuckles as the Shadows fully engulf his body. slowly they start to dissipate revealing that End has disappeared.

As the shadows dissipate completely, they all rush to Rockhoof's body and kneel next to it. by now Smolder, Gallus, and Sandbar were crying. Samnambula gently cradles Rockhoof's head with her hoof and Starswirl's stares at Rockhoof with regret in his eyes.
"...I'm sorry my friend... I'm so sorry." Said Starswirl.
"Wh-What do we do now!?" Said Gallus through his tears.
"We press on... There is nothing we can do for Rockhoof at this moment." Said Starswirl.
"...Maybe...Maybe we can!" Said Somnambula.
"What on earth can you mean!? Look at him!" Snapped Starswirl.
"Back during my duel in Baltimare, Gravekeeper's cheif spoke to me, saying there is a chance to save those in the shadow realm." Said Somnambula.
"What could he mean by that?" Asked Starswirl.
"I don't know, he didn't elaborate further, we must question him." Said Somnambula.
"But how! Our connection to our spirits are blocked until the shadows are lifted, or if we're in a Shadow Game." Said Sandbar.
"...Then I will call upon the Shadows to summon him." Said Starswirl.
"What??? You can do that?" asked Smolder.
"Starswirl, that's crazy! That's what happened to Stygian." Protested Somnambula.
"We don't have a choice, besides, Stygian was not a sorcerer like me. I can ward away the shadows from my mind." Said Starswirl. Somanmbula was gonna say something again but decided to hold her tongue.
"If you can contact Duel Spirits using Shadow Magic, do it now!" Said Gallus.
"Not Yet, I must have complete focus, we will perform this trick once we get back to Ponyville, which is what I hope this train will take us."

End of Chapter 16

Comments

[TherealNightblader]

I feel Like yonas next to be targeted as roofhoof was Strength and Apple Jack's honesty. She's the last of the honesty group. Not only that's she's one of the weaker school 6

[Star Sage]

11487581
You call Yona weak? Yaks not weak! Yaks strong!(Mostly just having a bit of fun with word play, I personally agree that her deck theme is probably the one that has the least chance of winning in a pro match)

[k00l]

11487581

11487646
Slight confession I would like to make, When comming up with the decks for the student six, I wanted to base it off a bit more on their personality. So when I got to yona, Gladiator Beasts just fit her in a certain way... but i'm not to familiar with the deck Literally had to learn it as I went.

[Star Sage]

11487743

That is in no way a problem. The fact that the Dorms are still named for them says they're pretty important though, so it's a natural thought to have. The big problem is that renaming the dorms would have meant explaining why, so I can understand not wanting to, it does leave the question there in universe to how much they know about them, and what they call them given there's no Egypt in this world, but instead the unnamed nation from that Daring Do episode.

11487749

Ah, that would explain that. It's a fine deck for a theme based thing, the problem with the G-Beasts are they're defensive cards mostly, designed to keep each other in the fight for longer, and wait for the opponent to get a bad draw so you can toast them. In tournaments, that's not as likely to happen, as most decks don't have 'bad' draws per say, and instead have less fortunate ones, as each one has a part in the strategy. It does well against burners, because of that, as it's a natural counter, but the Horde type decks do better in more situations so you see it used more.