//------------------------------//
// Chapter 15: The Machine Menace 
// Story: Twilight's Duel School of Friendship: Sophomore Year 
// by k00l 
//------------------------------//

It's night time at the school, all the students are well tucked into their bed, it's close to 3 o'clock. Tonight was the night both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were patrolling. Fluttershy walked the dark empty halls of the schools, she was absolutely terrified. A flash of lightning and thunder can be seen and heard through a window that causes her to flinch back. She takes a deep breath and continues her patrol. She eventually walks past the infirmary, she peeks inside to see all the different ponies inside, it was filling up pretty fast. Fluttershy takes a long sigh, her heart was heavy for everypony in that room, especially Spike. She turns away and begins walking down the dark hallway. Her only source of light was a lantern with lightning bugs in it, she held the handle in her mouth. 

Because of how timid and easily scared she is, she kept glancing around every corner before going down it. Slowly, she could feel a sharp coldness. She shivers but brushes off the coldness as nothing more than a breeze. Her patrol takes her by the Cafeteria, the main corridor, and even by the Arena. After a while without hearing from Pinkie, she decides to head in the direction of her patrol, near the school's library. Fluttershy made her way towards the library, she kept getting a weird sensation that she was being watched. She quickens her pace as she rounds a corner. She then grinds to a stop upon seeing something dark, laying in the middle of the hallway. Very slowly she approaches it, as she was unable to see what it was. Eventually, through the darkness, she began to see some color, the color pink. She gasps as she gets closer and realizes it was Pinkie, lying motionless on the ground. She runs to her and kneels down and begins to shake her.
"P-Pinkie! Pinkie wake up! What happened!?" She said in panic. However, Pinkie remained unconscious.

Despite her attempts to try and wake her up, Pinkie remains unresponsive. Fluttershy doesn't stop in her attempt to wake her up. That's when a soft and sinister chuckle is heard behind her. Fluttershy freezes and grows silent. It was so quiet that her heartbeat was audible. She slowly turns around and sees a cloaked figure standing in the middle of the hallway. She gasps and begins to breathe heavily.
"Hehehe....What's wrong Element? Is your friend unresponsive?" Said The figure. She was female and had a smaller frame than the other Shadow Riders.
"Get! G-Get away!" Said Fluttershy is pure fear.
"Hehe, scared ain't ya? Hehehe. Well if you want me to leave, then you will be unable to save your friend." Said the figure in a teasing way.
"W-what!? Hey! Wait!" Yelled Fluttershy. The figure chuckles and slowly turns.
"Yes? Call me Karma." She asks.
"What did you do to Pinkie?" Asked Fluttershy
"I dueled her, and she lost. So now her soul is mine." Said Karma. Fluttershy grows cold hearing this. "But, Hehe, You can still save her.”
"H-How?" asked Fluttershy.
"You duel me now, I lose, I return your friend's soul, and mine will be taken. You lose, your soul will join her." Said Karma. Fluttershy hesitates for a moment. She wanted to refuse, but she couldn't turn her back on Pinkie. She needed to make an attempt to save her.
"Deal." Said Fluttershy. Karma smirked evilly.
"Then your destiny ends here." Said Karma as the Shadows form her duel disk, and Fluttershy activates her's.

"DUEL"

[Fluttershy vs. Karma]

"I- I will go first," Said Fluttershy as she drew. "I place two cards face down and I end."
"I draw." Said Karma. "Heh, I activate Polymerization. With the two Cyber Ogres in my hoof, I send them to the grave to fusion summon Cyber Ogre 2! {2600atk. 1900def. Lv7 Fusion}" Cyber Ogre is summoned to the field and lets out a horrifying screech. With her first move, The Shadow game has begun as the purple mist fills the hallway. "Now Cyber Ogre, Attack her directly!" Cyber Ogre lifts his Giant claw and brings it down hard towards Fluttershy.
"I activate the effect of Sphere Kuriboh in my hoof! I discard him, and before your monster's attack hits, he is immediately changed to defense position!" Exclaimed Fluttershy proudly.
"Grr! I forgot, your deck is full of those Kuriboh cards!" Said Karma annoyingly as her monster switched to defense mode.
"I trust no other monsters to get me out of any situation." Said Fluttershy Assertively.

[Fluttershy 3 cards/ Karma 3 cards]

"My turn now, I draw." Said Fluttershy slowly gaining more confidence. "I now activate the Spell Scapegoat! I summon 4 sheep tokens to my side of the field in defense mode! {0atk. 0def. Lv1 Token x4} With that, I will end!"
"So pathetic! I draw!" Said Karma. "With this card, I will be able to attack you directly, I summon Jinzo- Returner!"
"No You don't! Because I activate my trap card, Horn of the Heaven! I tribute one of my monsters and your summon is negated, and your monster destroyed!" Said Fluttershy.
"Your deck is 5 times more annoying than your pink friend's deck. Fine, I switch my Cyber Ogre 2 back into attack mode and he destroys your middle token!" Said Karma. Cyber Ogre swipes at the token and destroys it. "I end, your move element."
"I draw!" Said Fluttershy. "I place one card face down, and that is all I can do this turn."
"Grr, When are you actually going to duel me!? Whatever, I'm taking my turn now." Said Karma as she drew. "Heh, you're screwed now. You think you can still rely on your trap cards? Well not anymore! I tribute my Cyber Ogre 2 to summon Jinzo! {2400atk. 1500def. Lv6}." Fluttershy gasps upon seeing the horrifying monster. "Hehehe, now, while Jinzo is face up on the field, no trap card can be activated! Now Jinzo, destroy the left token!" Jinzo powers up his psychic blast before firing it, destroying one sheep token. Fluttershy only had one left. "I end Element, If I were you, I would use a monster other than your pathetic Kuriboh!"

[Fluttershy 4 cards/ Karma 3 cards]

"I draw." Said Fluttershy, her heart beats faster as she begins to panic. "I summon Kuribandit. {1000atk. 700def. Lv3} I will now end, so that I can activate Kuribandit's effect. I send him to the graveyard, Now I reveal the top 5 cards of my deck. I reveal Hinotama, Mystical Space Typhoon, Scapeghost, Kuriborhn, and Transcendent Wings. All spell and trap cards are added to my hoof, the monster card is sent to the grave."
"Hm, My turn, I draw." Said Karma. I activate Cyber Energy Shock! I target one card on the field, and I destroy it. I will destroy your last Sheep Token!" A large electrical blast is fired at the token and is destroyed. "Now Jinzo, attack her directly!" Jinzo stares down Fluttershy with malicious intent, and begins to power up his attack.
"I activate the effect of Kuriborhn in my graveyard!" Yelled Fluttershy. "When you declare an attack, I can special summon any number of Kuriboh monsters from my grave, to the field! I summon to the field in defense mode, Clear Kuriboh, and Kuribandit!"
"You're really starting to make me angry! But, you know what, I will pass from attacking this turn. Hehe." Chuckled Karma, she was obviously planning something. "I Enter main phase 2, now that you have two more monsters than me, I can special summon the Fiend Megacyber from my hoof. {2200atk. 1200def. Lv6}. Now I build the Overlay Network! I combined my Jinzo with my fiend Megacyber to Xyz Summon Jinzo-Layered! "

[Fluttershy, 7 cards/ Karma 2 cards]

"I draw." Said Fluttershy. "Hmm... Nothing I can do, so I will pass."
"YOU END!? You have 8 cards in your hoof now, and you END!? How dare you not take me seriously! I will make you pay Element! I draw! Now, Jinzo, attack Kuri-" Said Karma before quickly being cut off.
"Not so fast! I activate the quick play spell, Flute of Summoning Kuriboh! This allows me to summon Winged Kuriboh to my field!" Said Fluttershy. Her Kuriboh appears on the field and hums cutely and quickly cuddles up to fluttershy. "Awww... I missed you too." Said Fluttershy, nuzzling it. 
"BLECK! How pathetic! It doesn't matter, because it will not stop my new jinzo's attack!" Said Karma.
"He won't but he will now! Because I also activate the quick play spell Transcendent Wings! I tribute my Winged Kuriboh, and two more cards in my hoof to summon Winged Kuriboh Lv10! {300atk. 200def. Lv10}" Winged Kuriboh floats in the air and emits a bright light. Eventually, it morphs into Winged Kuriboh Lv 10. Karma takes a few steps back, only slightly intimidated. "Now I activate his effect! During your battle phase, I can tribute him and destroy all your attacking monsters! Then you lose life points equal to their combined attack! Since you only have your Jinzo, he is gone, and so is 2400 of your life points!" Winged Kuriboh acts as a spear and flies directly at Jinzo-layered and kamikaze's himself and destroys him. Karma is flown back had from the explosion. Karma slowly makes it to her hooves and glares at Fluttershy, who stands triumphantly. "Seeing as there isn't anything for you to do, with no more cards on your side of the field, I take it you now end right? So it's my turn. I draw and switch my Sphere Kuriboh and my Kuribandit in attack mode. They both attack you for a combined attack of 1300." The force from the attack from the two kuribohs knocks Karma back to the ground.

[Fluttershy 4000/ Karma 300]

[Fluttershy 4 cards/ Karma 3]

"As long as I have my Kuribohs, I will never fear you. You underestimated my furry friends, and now you see something small, can make a huge difference. I still have my Hinotama spell card. I could play this and you will lose. But no matter how nasty you have been... I don't want you to lose your soul. You can turn yourself around. You can overcome these Shadows. you can make peace. Return Pinkie's soul, and all of us can escape this." Said Fluttershy softly.
"You...YOU LIE!" Yells Karma as she stumbles a lot as she tries to stand again. "You are making a fool out of me! You are going to play that card anyway just to spite me! You must be bluffing! You hate me, so finish me!" 
"....I end my turn." Said Fluttershy. Karma quickly looks at her.
"Is that your proof that I'm not lying? I didn't play it. Now, please listen to me. You don't have to do this. Do the right thing Karma." Said Fluttershy reassuringly. Karma actually pauses for a moment, she looks down at her duel disk. She feels the Shadows slowly dissipate from her mind as the feeling of guilt slowly seeps in. Fluttershy's words were breaking through the Shadows. She felt like placing her hoof on top of her duel disk, and surrendering. She actually had no way of bringing Pinkie back, but saving Fluttershy's soul, would be her redemption. Though, she would lose her soul in the process. She moves her hoof to the duel disk, and suddenly grabs the top card on her deck and draws. 'What if this is a good card?' Said a voice in her head. 'Look at it.' Slowly she turns the card around and her eyes widen. She felt excitement from the card she drew and the shadows slowly fully consumed her thoughts again, pushing out all emotions she just felt.
"You are a fool to trust me Element, now taste your doom!" Yelled Karma.

"I activate the spell Cost Down!" Yells Karma. Fluttershy remains silent. "With this spell, all monsters' levels in my hoof are marked down by 2, Allowing me to summon without tribute, Jinzo The Mechanical Menace! {2400atk. 1500def. Lv6}" This new version of Jinzo appears on the field, and crosses his arms. "Now I activate his effect, I send him to the grave to bring back my old Jinzo from the grave, and When that happens, all set and activate trap cards are destroyed!" As Jinzo returns, Fluttershy's only face down is destroyed. "Now, I activate Monster Reborn, to bring back my Mechanical Menace!" Both Jinzos on the field Cross their arms and stare down Fluttershy's Kuribohs. "With the last spell in my hoof, you're finished. I activate my second Cyber Energy Wave! Now it destroys your Kuribandit!" Another shock wave strike's Fluttershy's field and destroys Kuribandit. Fluttershy remains silent, but a single tear runs down her cheek. "Now that I have a Jinzo on the field, I can activate the second effect of Cyber Energy Wave. All Jinzo cards gain 800 attack, making both of my monsters 3400! With a measly 300 attack kuriboh on your field, You are done! Jinzo! Destroy!" Both Jinzos power up their psychic blast, one fires and hits Sphere Kuriboh, while the second strikes Fluttershy Directly. She Is flown back violently and lands on the ground hard.

[Fluttershy vs. Karma: Winner Karma.]

Karma slowly approaches Fluttershy and stands over her smirking. Fluttershy looks up at her, tears flooding her eyes.
"You were a fool to trust me. I had no power to bring back a soul, I only said that to entice you to duel me, now I bagged two souls in one night. You are pathetic, weak, and a fool." Bragged Karma. Fluttershy sniffles as she struggles to get her words out.
"...I... I still believe in you." Said Fluttershy. Karma Instantly stops smirking. "...I still believe...you will do the right thing... eventually..." Before Fluttershy could say anything else, the Shadows pounced on her to steal her soul. Karma turns her head, actually not wanting to see. Eventually however, she goes limp and Karma turns her head back towards her. Karma sighs and the shadows then surround her, engulfing her as she slowly dissipates and teleports out of the school. 

The next day a loud and horrific scream rocks the entire school. Ocellus, and Silverstream are startled awake by the scream causing Silver to fall from her top bunk.
"OUCH! H-Hey! Who Screamed!?" Asked Silverstream.
"That sounded like Professor Rarity!" Said Ocellus. Both Ocellus and Silverstream poke their heads out. More students were also looking out in the hall. Ocellus and Silverstream step out and follow the direction of where the scream was. They turn down the hallway where the library was and see a large crowd gathered in a circle. Ocellus and Silverstream push their ways through and see the most horrifying sight. Rarity was sobbing into the shoulder of Twilight as the three of the Pillars stood around them, on the floor, was both Pinkie, and Fluttershy, soulless. The students were talking amongst themselves, now realizing this was no act.
"Dude! This is not acting, something bad is happening!" Said One student.
"This doesn't look fake...I think this is real." Said Another student.
"Are we in danger!?" Cried out another.
"Everypony, go to your rooms. Wait there till instructed further." Said Mistmane to the crowd.
"Why should we trust you!? Have you all been lying to us!?" Asked one student.
"Yeah! You've been putting us in harm's way!" Said another.
"No we haven't, we've been protecting you all." Said Mage Meadowbrook.
"So it's true we are really in danger!?" Said a student.
"It's like last year! Monsters must be coming alive!" Cried another.
"ENOUGH!" Yelled Flash Magnus, hitting his shield hard to make a loud noise, getting everyone's attention. "Everyone needs to settle down! No one has more control on this situation than us. Now Go to your rooms and wait there till we tell you, NOW!"

The students look at each other and slowly make their ways back to their rooms and wait, the only other students there, were now Ocellus and Silverstream.
"Now that there is no crowd, we can figure out what happened." Said Flash turning towards Rarity and Twilight. Rarity was still sobbing.
"What happened Miss Rarity?" Asked Mistmane Gently while stroking her back.
"I-I-I-I I Found them like this! They won't wake U-U-UP!" Rarity said while still crying her eyes out. Twilight held her close, she too was also crying. Flash assesses the situation and comes to his own conclusion.
"It appears they were ambushed last night. They dueled, and lost. had to been a pair of Shadow Riders to take them out without us noticing." Flash scrunches up his nose in anger as he comes to a conclusion. "They wanted us to separate. We need to get Starswirl and the others back."
"How? They could be anywhere." Said Mage Meadowbrook.
"We still have our crystal balls Headmare Twilight gave us. Our friends had to take theirs with them." Said Ocellus.
"Then call them, tell them we need them back as soon as possible." Said Flash.

Silverstream and Ocellus turn and hurry down the hallway and enter the Slifer Red dorm.
"Why are we going this way?" Asked SIlver.
"I'm worried about Yona, she wasn't there in the crowd and I want to make sure she is ok." Said Ocellus. They turn the corner and stop in front of Yona's door. They knocked and called Yona's name, but there was no answer. This does nothing in squashing their fears. They then try to open the door but it's locked.
"How are we supposed to get in!?" Asked Silverstream. Ocellus takes a deep breath to calm down.
"Ok, Let me change into a fly. I'll fly under the door and unlock it." Said Ocellus.
"Ok, please hurry." Said Silverstream. Ocellus uses her magic to transform into a fly and she flies under the door. Silverstream puts her ear up to the door. She could hear her transform back and unlock the door. As soon as the door opened, Silverstream could hear what sounded like a chainsaw. She has a confused look on her face till she sees Ocellus, who had a very unamused expression.
"What...Is that?" Asked Silverstream.
"That's Yona, snoring." Said Ocellus.
"Thank goodness, at least we know she is alright." Said Silver stepping into the room. Since they were already there, they decided to use Yona's crystal ball to call their friends. Ocellus finds it and holds it up and rubs it, eventually, They see Gallus's face appear in the ball.
"Gallus!" They both say loudly.
"Could you guys have picked a better time to call? Some of us are pretty busy at the moment." Said Gallus.
"No, it's pretty important," said Silver.
"More of our professors have lost their duels." Said Ocellus.
"What!? Seriously!?" Said Gallus in surprise.
"Yes, you need to tell Starswirl that you guys need to come back immediately." Said Ocellus.
"Alright, We are already on a train back to ponyville." said Gallus as he hung up. Both Silver and Ocellus put the ball down and sigh sorrowfully. They turn around and are shocked to see Yona now sitting up in her bed, staring at them.
"....How Yona friends get in?" Asked Yona.


End of Chapter 15