//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18: Befriending the Shadows 
// Story: Twilight's Duel School of Friendship: Sophomore Year 
// by k00l 
//------------------------------//

As soon as the two step through the portal, they are met with a grisly sight. They appeared to be in a worn down graveyard with broken tombstones, bones, and dug up graves everywhere. Everything was bone chillingly cold and the air smelled putrid. The purple miasma was everywhere like a fog, preventing them from seeing more than 30 feet away.
"Bleh! What's that smell? Is this really the Shadow Realm?" Asked Ocellus.
"Brrrr... I guess so. Come on, we need to find someone we know and get them out of here." Said Smolder.
"It's heart wrenching knowing that those we know are stuck here. I want to get them all out." Said Ocellus as she follows Smolder closely. As they walked through this bereft landscape, they both kept looking around them. It felt like they were being watched by thousands of eyes. They continued to walk, trying their best to stay in one direction so that it was easy to head back to the portal. That's when out of the corner of Smolder's eyes, a dark figure ducks behind a tombstone. 

She quickly turned her head in the direction of the figure but it was gone. She was wondering if her mind was playing tricks on her till she looked back at Ocellus. She was looking in the same direction, eyes widened.
"Did...Did you see that too?" Asked Smolder.
"Y-yes." Replied Ocellus.
"Ok, Stay close to me Cell." Said Smolder. The two creeped further into the graveyard, now on edge knowing in fact, there were creatures watching them. Now whenever they see something move from the corner of their eyes, they try their best to ignore it. However, they slowly begin to get more paranoid. They begin to move more quickly until Smolder accidentally trips over an old tree root. She fell face first onto the ground, it was slightly muddy, getting mud all over her face. 
"BLECH!!! I hate it here!" Yelled Smolder.
"Smolder are you ok?" Asked Ocellus offering her hoof to Smolder.

In the distance, a low rumbling groan can be heard in the distance. Their eyes go wide and slowly turn in the direction it was coming from. A dark hooded figure was drifting towards them. It had no lower body, like it was floating. Eventually it breaks through the mist revealing a ghostly face and it was wielding a scythe. Ocellus Clutches Smolder tightly as both of them begin to panic.
"What is that thing!?" Cried Smolder.
"AHHH!!! SOMEONE HELP US!!!" Yelled Ocellus. The hooded ghost gets closer to them and raises its sythe. Both girls hold each other close and both yell out again in fear. Suddenly, a large fireball lands between them, causing the ghost to flinch back. The girls look at the fire and then turn to see where it came from. Behind them, were two figures, one a dragon like Smolder, the other was a duel monster.
"Get back freak! Leave them alone!" Yelled the dragon before turning to the duel monster. "Give him another buddy!"  The duel monster fires another fireball at the ghost which causes it to hiss and quickly floats away into the darkness. The two girls are still holding each other tights as the two figures who saved them approach. 

Still fearful, they still had no idea who they actually were. As they get closer, they soon become recognizable which causes both of them to be thrown into complete shock. It was Spike and his Armed Dragon Lv3.
"SPIKE!!! Yelled Ocellus and smiled wide. Smolder however, her shock turned to anger as she glared at him.
"You guys are here too? Man, if you two are here, then this ain't good." Spike said as he helps Ocellus up off the ground
"Oh no, we came here willingly through a portal." Said Ocellus.
"A portal?" Asked Spike, before any further questions could be answered Smolder stands up and pulls Ocellus away from Spike and gets between them. 
"CELL NO! He's a Shadow Rider!" Yelled Smolder. She glares at Spike and grinds her teeth. Spike holds up his hands and slowly backs away. "How could you! How could you turn on us!? We were your friends Spike and you gave us up, FOR WHAT!? This!? Eternity in this horrid place!? Are you happy with yourself? ARE YOU!?!? You hurt us Spike! You hurt Twilight! Why would you do this!? WHY!?" Tears form in Smolder eyes as she pretty much lays her feelings out before Spike's feet.

Spike slowly lowers his arms and turns his head away. He stays quiet for a moment as he tries to find the words to say. He lets out a long breath and turns back towards them.
"I don't think you will believe me if I told you what happened right now...Follow me, and you'll understand." Said Spike
"No! We aren't going anywhere with you!" Said Smolder.
"Do you want to see your professors or not?" Asked Spike.
"Our Professors? Smolder, we need to follow him." Said Ocellus.
"No we don't! He's lying!" Said Smolder.
"What if he's not? He's already trapped here Smolder, what else can he do?" Said Ocellus Pushing past Smolder to follow Spike. Smolder crosses her arms and begrudgingly follows. Spike leads them a bit further into the realm. Slowly, what looks like a light can be seen peering through the shadows. The light is coming from the base on an old dead tree. As they come into view, the light appears to be a campfire, with multiple creatures surrounding it. Ocellus and Smolder's try to get a decent look at who is there, they are surprised to find out though, their professors are in fact there. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy are all there. 
"No way!" Yelled Smolder as both her and Ocellus run towards them.

The ponies look up and see their students running towards them, they all stand and also begin to run towards them, embracing them in a hug.
"Professor Shy! Professor Pinkie!" Said Ocellus as they hugged them tight.
"You girls shouldn't be here, I'm so sorry you two were dragged into this mess." Said Applejack.
"Their not souls if that's what you're thinking." Said Spike approaching them, his duel monster close behind him. "You did good buddy, take a break for awhile." Spike holds his card to the dragon and slowly morphs into it before Spike puts the card away.
"You find anything else out there Spike?" Asked Dash?
"No, nothing." Said Spike Sitting down next to the campfire. The two students looked at the campfire, there were more ponies there sitting around it, ponies they did not recognise.
"Who are they?" Asked Smolder.
"Oh them? They are our friends, well, now they are our friends but they wern't earlier. We only became friends after we were all sent here." Said Pinkie.
"...We were Shadow Riders" One of the ponies said. Smolder and Oellus grow speechless.
"Here, ironically enough the Pony of Shadows has no influence over us anymore." Said another.
"...We're just alone now, maybe this is what we deserve." Said another. Spike himself remains silent while staring at the fire, a small tear forms in his eye.

"None of us wanted this. We didn't want to fight you." Said the first Pony. "We... We didn't even know what we were doing." In the distance a whole group of ponies began approaching the campfire, one of them was recognizable, it was Rockhoof.
"Alright laddies, We were able to get more firewood. Hope it's...enough....Smolder? Ocellus!?" Said Rockhoof.
"ROCKHOOF!"  They both yell happily to see him.
"Gah! That was awful! Dreadful! I can't believe I am forced to live here!" Said a Unicorn stomping his way to the campfire and sitting down. "This place is so dirty! I want to go home!"
"We all want to go home, Your highness." Said Dash annoyed.
"Your Highness? Are you Prince Blueblood?" Asked Ocellus.
"Of course I am!" Said Blueblood.
"Dude..." Said Smolder. Some more ponies behind Rockhoof step forward, placing down firewood, but one of them is not a pony, but a dragon. Smolder's jaw drops upon seeing him, because he wasn't just any dragon, it was her brother Garble.
"G-Garble!?" Yelled Smolder. Garble turns towards her, and his eyes widen.
"Smolder?" asked Garble. Ocellus watches both of them till she notices that one more figure behind Rockhoof also wasn't a pony, but a changeling like her. She too was shocked when she realized who it was, Pharynx.

Pharynx soon notices her as well and quickly approaches her.
"Ocellus!? What are you doing here!?" Asked Pharynx.
"I should be asking you the same thing!" Said Ocellus as tears were now forming in her eyes.
"Why... Why are you here Gar Gar?" Asked Smolder, she could feel a pit in her gut. Garble and Pharynx look at each other before answering.
"You sent us here Smolder." Said Garble.
"Wh-What! How did I send you here?" Asked Smolder.
"Me and Garble were dueling you and Beardy at the train station." Said Pharynx
"That was you two!?" Yelled Smolder.
"...Yes." Said Garble.
"...Why... Why would you do this!?" Asked Ocellus who now has tears running down her face. Garble and Pharynx sits down and prepare to explain everything to them.

"We never wanted to do this Smolder. We had no choice." Said Garble.
"We were forced to do this, We had no free will." Said Pharynx.
"I was alone in the Dragonlands... you know how bad I miss you when you are gone. I had to get away from the guys as... they were getting pretty mean. I was by myself and I... I was at a low point ok!... Then something hits me, hits me like a train. I felt this darkness inside me getting bigger. Whatever it was, it made me... sadder, then it turned my sadness into anger. So, so much anger, then.... Everything just goes black. It was like My mind was taken over by this Shadow. All I could do was watch as I was forced to do whatever this Shadow told me to do. It forced me to duel you, and I still don't know how to duel!... then... I was sent here... I.. I'm sorry Smolder. I never wanted to hurt you." Said Garble. Smolder was left speechless.
"...Is that what happened to you Pharynx?" Asked Ocellus.
"Yes... It's still so hard to fit around the hive. I still felt left out, and then bam, I'm no longer myself. I felt my mind take a back seat as some dark energy hijacked my body. I never saw it coming." Said Pharynx.
"... You had no control of yourselves. You were forced into becoming Shadow Riders... All of you." Said Smolder now looking all around her, looking at all the ponies around the Fire. She stops when she gets to Spike, his head hanging in shame.
"What do we do Smolder? We can only take back one." Said Ocellus.

Smolder looks around her again. What was once a feeling of anger, has been replaced with sympathy and Sadness.
"I know..." Said Smolder. She looks at Rockhoof, and Then Applejack. They were the ones recommended to save. She then looks at Garble and Pharynx, she wants to save one of them, being family. But, she looks back over at Spike. She didn't know why, but deep down, she knew it was him they had to save.
"We need to pick Spike." Said Smolder.
"Why Spike?" asked Ocellus. "I wanna save Pharynx."
"Trust me I know, I wanna save my brother. But when we defeat the Pony of Shadows, We can save them all. And my Gut says saving Spike will help us." said Smolder.
"How could he help?" asked Ocellus.
"He is a Shadow Rider right? Being sent here has disrupted the Pony of Shadows influence. He could tell us everything we need to know about him." Said Smolder.
"...yeah, I think You're right." Said Ocellus.

They turn and approach Spike who then lifts his head at them.
"You two need something?" asked Spike.
"Yes, it's time we told you why we are here. All of you." Said Smolder. Everyone at the fire turns their heads to look at them.
"We were sent here through a portal, the portal will allow one of you to leave, but no more. The one we rescue will aid us in defeating the Pony of Shadows, and when that happens, you all will be free." Said Ocellus. Everyone started talking and whispering among themselves.
"We were going to rescue Rockhoof, or Professor Applejack, as they are element bearers and with them gone, Yona is the last element of Strength and Honesty. but... Spike, we need you the most." Said Smolder
"Me!?!? Why Me!?" Asked Spike.
"You were a Shadow Rider, you may know critical information about the Pony of Shadows we need." Said Smolder.
"No, no I can't. After everything I have done, take someone else." Said Spike.
"I'll Gladly go!" Said Blueblood
"No Spike, its you we need." Said Smolder. Spike hangs his head as he thinks about it.
"Please Spike. Twilight and Rarity miss you." Said Ocellus. Spike look back up at them.
"They do?... They're not mad?" Asked Spike.
"No, they aren't... They... We need you." Said Ocellus.

Spike takes a few more moments to think. HE wipes some tears away and then stands up.
"Ok, I will go." Said Spike. Smolder and Ocellus hug them. Soon Dash, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rockhoof approach them.
"Hey, you guys are gonna need an escort back to the portal, it's dangerous here." Said Dash.
"Thanks Professor. Sorry we can't save you yet." Said Smolder.
"Don't sweat it. We'll make it out eventually. Just promise me to kick the snot out of the Pony of Shadows for us ok?" Said Dash.
"Deal." Said Smolder. The group then set back out towards the portal, there were a few hiccups but the others were able to drive away the monsters. They finally make it to the portal, but Spike hesitates again.
"Spike, are you ok?" Asked Smolder.
"...What if the others lash out at me? What if they see me as a traitor?... Like how you did Smolder?" Asked Spike. Smolder feels ashamed of how she lashed out at him earlier and then approaches him, She then pulls him into a hug and holds him tight. 
"I'm sorry for what I said Spike, I only said what I did because... I thought you chose to do this. Now I know this was all against your will. Once everyone else knows this, you will be forgiven." Said Smolder

Spike hugs smolder back tight and buries his face in her shoulder. he begins to tear up again as she speaks to him. As they pull away he wipes away his tears again.
"Thank you Smolder. I promise to make this all up to you." Said Spike.
"You three take care now. You tell the others how we are, Ay?" Asked Rockhoof.
"We will." Said Ocellus. The three take a deep breath and soon walk back into the portal. There was a bright light on the other side, once they walked through it, the portal was then instantly closed. They open their eyes to see they are back in their own realm with everyone looking at them.
"Did you find anyone?" asked Somnambula.
"Who did you bring back?" Asked Flash
"Where are they?" Asked Rarity.
"He should be...right... next to us???" Said Smolder, but only her and Ocellus were there. "Where is he!?" 
"I don't know! He was right next to us!" Said Ocellus.
"Calm you two. whoever you brought back was a spirit, they are probably back in their own body." said Starswirl.
"Then we must get to the Infirmary." Said Twilight. 

Everyone quickly exits the office and makes their way to the infirmary. They enter and most were shocked to see who was awake, it was Spike. He was sitting up in bed, still hooked up to a lot of machines, and he was staring at his claws. His scales were still black, and his eyes were still red.
"You... you FOOLISH LITTLE...GRAH! Why didn't you bring back an Element!?!?!? You brought back a Shadow Rider!" Yelled Starswirl turning towards Smolder and Ocellus angrily.
"...Spike?" Asked Twilight as she slowly approached him. Smolder and Ocellus take a few steps away from Starswirl who had a very angry expression.
"You two were supposed to save an Element, not a Shadow! You ruined our one chance to strengthen our team and now we need to send him back!" yelled Starswirl.
"Starswirl, calm down." Said Mistmane.
"Why!? Why should I calm down!?" Asked Starswirl.
"look." Said Somnambula pointing at Spike. Everyone then looks over at Spike. Twilight was inches from him as Spike was looking at Twilight.
"Spike... Is that you?... Please... Please don't be a shadow..." Said Twilight. 

Spike Looks at her and then slowly gets out of bed and on his feet. He then drops to his knees and hugs Twilight Tightly. Twilight returns the hug and holds him closely. Rarity rushes past the other Pillars and then hugs Spike just as closely.
"What's the deal? Why isn't he attacking us?" Asked Flash Magnus.
"I... I don't know. He is still corrupted by the Shadows." Said Starswirl.
"Will you allow us to explain?" Said Smolder.
"... Go ahead." Said Starswirl.

As Smolder began to explain what they seen and heard in the Shadow Realm, Twilight and Rarity slowly pull away to talk to Spike.
"Spike, Are you ok? What happened to you darling?" Asked Rarity who was just as emotional as Twilight.
"I... I'm fine, just... Hungry. I... I didn't want to do this Twilight... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Cried Spike
"Please Spike, I know you didn't want to do this. I forgive you Spike." Said Twilight as she and Rarity hugged him again. Slowly, Starswirl approaches them and Spike looks up at him. He was fearful of what he might have to say to him. Rarity and Twilight pull away again.
"Spike, Smolder and Ocellus explained everything to me. I just want some confirmation. Was the Shadows corrupting you against your will?" Asked Starswirl.
"...Yes, I never wanted this to happen to me." Said Spike.
"How are you feeling now, The Shadows are still within you." Asked Starswirl.
"I'm... fine. I feel angry still, like I did, but it's not as strong. I can hold it back." Said Spike. 
"Hmmm, It seems the Pony of Shadows cut off his connection with you as you were sent to the Shadow Realm. This is... Good. Then we do have an ally with the Shadows." Said Starswirl. You must come with us Spike. You must reveal all you know about the Pony of Shadows." Said Starswirl.
"Ok... but, can I get something to eat first?" Asked Spike.


End of Chapter 18