Twilight's Duel School of Friendship: Sophomore Year

by k00l

Chapter 13: Home Front

As the others left on the train, some classes were cut and school ended around noon. The students mostly remain oblivious to what is really going on, but there have been a few students trying to piece together all current events. The professors dismissed these as rumors as to not start a panic. Since classes are ending early, most students hang out at the arena. Ocellus, Yona, and Silverstream were there watching some students duel.
"Yona so bored...Yona miss friends." Said Yona.
"They've only been gone for 3 hours." Said Silverstream
"Yeah, but Yona still miss them." Said Yona.
"Yeah, I do too. We waited all summer to meet back up, and now we have to split up again." Said Ocellus.
"Aww come on guys. It's not like they'll be gone forever. Besides, we are not completely split up." Said Silverstream. She looks over a few seats away from them and see both Brisk and Roulette sitting together. "Hey, we also have Brisk and Roulette still here. They can hang out with us while we wait for the others."
"You want to replace them?" Asked Ocellus with a raised eyebrow.
"No, just... filler till they get back." Said Silverstream.

Before either Ocellus or Yona could protest, Silverstream was already calling out to both Brisk and Roulette to come sit with them. Brisk and Roulette gladly take up on her offer and moves seats
"Hey guys, what's up?" asked Roulette.
"We were just wondering while Smolder, Gallus, and Sandbar are gone." Said Silverstream.
"Oh, and why are they gone?" Asked Brisk suspiciously. Ocellus nudged Silverstream in the side hard.
"OW!" Said Silverstream.
"Uh, they are out of town...with... Professor Dash and Jack! Yeah! And Secratary Spike. The food fight they started eventually took its toll and the school was low on food. So as punishment, they took them with them to go shopping.... in Manehatten." Said Ocellus lying.
"Really? But I thought Smolder made amends with the school's chef." Said Roulette. Brisk looked unamused.
"Well She did... But... Friend Smolder still needed punishment. And friend Sandbar and Gallus volunteered to join since they helped start the food fight.
"...Are you guys lying?" Asked Brisk not believing them.
"....no." Said Ocellus as she started to sweat.
"Come on guys, tell us the truth. We're not stupid, there's been a lot of weird happenings going on. It doesn't take a genius to connect the dots." Said Brisk.

Ocellus looked as if she was about to hyperventilate. They couldn't reveal anything to Brisk and Roulette as they were instructed to keep quiet. But unfortunately, someone who was listening to their conversation butted in to reveal everything.
"They are out on a quest with some of the Pillars." Said a voice behind them. They all look back to the row of seats above them to see Gizmo.
"G-Gizmo!?" Said Yona in surprise.
"Gizzy, how do you know that?" Asked Roulette.
"Well.. I kinda been following you guys and eavesdropping on you for a few weeks now." Said Gizmo climbing over the seats to sit next to them.
"Why!? Why would you do that!?" asked Silverstream a little creeped out.
"I'm sorry. I also been noticing all the strange things going on, and I just knew it involved the Elements of Harmony. So... I followed you guys to see what was going on... Is the Pony of Shadows really back?" Asked Gizmo.
"HA-HA-HA-HA-HA! The Pony of Shadows!? He is just an old Pony's tale, to scare fillies and colts." Said Brisk.

The three look at each other, seeing no point in hiding it any longer. They all three sigh and motion the other three to get in closer.
"What Yona and friends tell you, cannot be said again." Said Yona.
"We don't want to start a panic." Said Silverstream.
"So do you guys promise not to repeat any of this?" Asked Ocellus. The three nod.
"...Yes, the Pony of Shadows is here." Said Ocellus.
"You're kidding!?" Yelled Roulette, the three quickly shush her to quiet her down.
"Please be quiet. He returned whenever we brought back the Pillars, but we didn't know returning them would bring him back too." Said Ocellus.
"So, he is real, and bringing him back is your fault?" Said Brisk crossing his hooves.
"No no, it was an accident. Besides, it was really Headmare Twilight." Said Silverstream.
"Besides, that not worst part." Said Yona.
"He is drawing magic from the Shadow Realm, it weakens our connection to the realm of Duel Monsters so we are unable to contact our spirits unless we are in a shadow game." Said Ocellus. "He is also going around and corrupting ponies and creatures with his shadow magic and corrupting them, turning them into Shadow Riders." Said Ocellus.
"...What do these Shadow Riders do?" Asked Roulette.

The three hesitates debating whether or not they want to answer that question, since it is the one that will cause the most fear. But they have revealed so much, they might as well just say it.
"They are actively hunting all bearers of the Elements of Harmony, challenging them to Shadow Games. Real Shadow Games, where you really do lose your soul." all of their eyes widen, even Brisk's.
"So... what happened to Professor Dash and Applejack... that was real?" Asked Gizmo
"....Yes, they are in a comatose state right now." Said Ocellus. Gizmo and Brisk are left totally shocked and Roulette looks visibly freaked out.
"This is bad, this is so bad" Said Roulette placing her hooves to her head.
"Calm down Roulette, we have beaten more of them than they have us." Said Silverstream.
"Beating just one of you is bad! What if you all lose???" Said Roulette as she begins to hyperventilate.
"We won't let that happen. Just calm down ok, we and the others won't let anything happen to anypony or anyone." Said Ocellus. These words seem to calm down Roulette quite a bit. But, just as things were settling down, a cold breeze was felt.

"Oh no..." Said Yona.
"Brrrr... Did sompony leave the window open?" Asked Brisk.
"Worse...." Said Ocellus.
"A cold breeze is felt... when one of them is nearby..." Said Silverstream. The Three's eyes widen as a commotion is heard at the center of the arena. A match was interrupted by a black smog forming in the middle of the field. Red eyes are seen directly in the middle of the fog until it finally dies down, now revealing a Stallion in the center of the field. He had a dark maroon red coat with black hair. His cloak was already fixed as a cape, and also wearing a mask. But his eyes were glowing red. Everyone was confused on who he was and why he was here.
"Hey Buddy, Get off the Arena! We're in the middle of a game!" Said one of the duelists. The Pony turns his head and glares at him. This was intimidating enough to cause the duelist to slowly back away as well as his opponent. Slowly he turns his attention back to everyone else.
"...I am Malebranche! I seek the many heathens you fools look up to who bear the Elements of Harmony. Bring them to me, and you will all be spared my wrath." Said Malebranche.

The students look at each other in confusion, except for the six. Roulette covers her mouth with her hooves, Brisk glares at him angrily, Gizmo hides behind Brisk, and the other three show no fear to him.
"...NOW!" He yells startling everyone in the room. "I demand to face the Elements now so that they may fall before my master!" Said Malebranche.
"The only one who will be falling is you!" Said a voice at the entrance. They all turn to see Flash Magnus standing there courageously. "You will face me Shadow, and you will be the one falling."
"Tough talk Element. But my deck is ruthless and horrifying! You will not stand a chance!" Snarled Malebranche.
"We shall see." Said Flash as he steps onto the arena. The shadows form a Duel Disk on his arm, while Flash reveals that his shield, secretly houses his own Duel Disk.

"DUEL!"

[Flash Magnus vs. Malebranche]

"I will be the starting player, I draw!" Said Flash. "First I summon the Necro Gardna, {600atk. 1300def. Lv3} Now I place one card face down. Now it's your move."
"I draw." Said Malebranche. "I activate the Field Spell, Pandemonium!" As soon as the card is played, the area around the arena and the students begin to morph into a horrifying landscape. The sky was red, the ground was a sickly green and was covered in bones, and lightning struck all around them. It was more horrifying to see than the Zombie World card the six saw last year. Everyone in the stands was very uncomfortable and scared of the field spell. And of course, now that the Shadow Rider has played his card, the purple mist makes a return, the Shadow Game has begun.
"What is this place!? There is much evil here." Said Flash.
"This is Pandemonium! The homeland of the Archfiends. While this card is on the field, no one has to pay the lifepoint cost of any of the Archfiends. On top of that, if you destroy an Archfiend in any way except battle, I add one Archfiend card to my hoof whose level is lower than the destroyed monster." Said Malebrache with a smirk. "Now it's time for you to meet my Archfiends, I summon Shadowknight Archfiend! {2000atk. 1600def. Lv4} The monster is summoned to the field and lets out a horrifying shriek. Now the students in the stands were getting really scared.
"Look at that thing!" Said a random Slifer
"It looks too real!" Said a random Ra
"Don't let it get in closer!" Said a Random Obelisk. Malebranche smirks at all the panic he was causing.
"Archfiends! I have never heard of those monsters before." Said Brisk.
"I have, it's a rare deck. There are decks out there, similar to the Dragon Rulers, they emit dark auras as the monsters in them are evil, but they are nowhere near as strong as the Dragon Rulers. To name a few of these decks, there are Archfiends, Burning Abyss, Shaddolls, Cyberdarks, and Dark Sanctuary." Said Ocellus.
"So what we are looking at is an evil deck?" Asked Roulette.
"Yes. Most of the time, the ponies given these decks are able to tame the monsters in them, whoever this guy really is, he had to of been strong willed to resist the evil of the Archfiends...but not enough to keep back the Shadows." Said Ocellus sympathetically.

"Now watch Element, as my Archfiend tears your monster to shreds!" Said Malebranche. Shadowknight pierces Necro Gardna's shoulder with his claws, necro Gardna lets out a pained whimper and looks Shadowknight in the eyes. Shadowknight lets out another shriek as it then lands a devastating blow with its sword, destroying Necro Gardna. "Lucky for you, all damage dealt to you involving Shadowknight is halved, I end my turn."
"Ngh...I draw!" Said Flash as he took damage. "I summon Twin-Shield Defender! {700atk. 1600def. Lv4} Now I equip him with the equip spell Magna Shield!" Defender threw down both of his shields as a new one I magically summoned in his hand, it was Purple and had golden spikes on its sides. "Magna shield's effect depends on the position of my monster, since he is in attack position, his defense points are added to his attack, making him 2300! Now he will take on your Shadowknight!" As Defender got into a fighting stance, Shadowknight let out one more shriek and charged defender, swinging its sword over his head. Defender blocked it with ease using the shield and then stabbed Shadowknight in the chest with one of the spikes. Shadowknight shrieks one final time before being destroyed.
"Grrr! NO!" Said Malebranche.
"That's my turn, it's yours now." Said Flash standing tall.

[Flash Magnus 3300atk. Malebranche 3700]

[Flash 3 cards/ Malebranche 4 cards]

"I draw!!" Said Malebranche angrily. His anger subsides and he then smirks upon seeing the card he drew. "I activate the continuous spell card, Archfiend's Oath." A large stone covered in writing in an impossible language rises from the ground. "Now, I offer 500 lifepoints, then I call out one card name, I then reveal the top card of my deck, if it is the card I called out, I add it to my hoof, if not, it goes to the grave."
"Pfft, good luck with that." chuffed Flash.
"What a gamble..." Said Roulette.
"There is no way he can rely on a strat like that." Said Silverstream. Malebranche places his hoof on top of his deck and he closes his eyes. He waits a moment and then smirks again.
"I call out...Resonator Call!" Said Malebranche. He draws the card dramatically and reveals it was Resonator Call.
"No way!" Yelled Brisk.
"What luck..." Said Roulette, genuinely impressed.
"There is no way you just did that! You had to of rigged that!" Said Flash in anger.
"If you can prove I just cheated, I will surrender right now and sacrifice my soul." Said Malebranche. All Flash could do was glare at him and grit his teeth.
"Seriously? But how can he prove it?" Asked Silverstream.
"...He can't." Said Gizmo.
"Now, I activate Resonator Call, to add the Flare Resonator to my hoof who I now Summon. {300atk. 1300def. Lv3 Tuner}. Now I activate everyone's favorite card, Monster Reborn to resummon your Necro Gardna to my side of the field." Said Malebranche.
"NO! I need him in MY graveyard!" Said Flash. But it was hopeless, his monster was resummoned.
"Now, I tune for six, synchro summoning Archfiend's Call! {2500atk. 1200def. Lv6 Synchro}

The monster is summoned to the field, he was just as horrifying as the last Archfiend. Had Lighting all around him as well as a bright green aura.
"Since he was synchro summoned with Flare Resonator, he gains 300 extra attack, making him 2800 attack, and he cannot be targeted by any card effects. Now, my Archfiend, Destroy his defender!"
"No! I activate my face down, Spear Shield! My monster gains an extra 400 attack for this turn! Now they are even!" Said Flash. As the Defender is given a spear with a shield on it, Archfiend's call sends a bolt of lightning right at him. Before he is struck, he throws the spear hard. Both monsters are struck, and both are destroyed. "No one loses lifepoints and now you are defenseless! By my next turn, with nothing to defend you, I will defeat you, you Monster!"
".....hehehehe....Hehehehe...Hahaha, HA-HA-HA-HA!!!" Malebranche started cackling like a demon. "Thank you so much Element! You did my work for me!"
"You wanted me to destroy your monster?" Flash asked in confusion.
"Yes I did, now the second effect of Archfiend's call activates!" Said Malebranche, smiling madly. "When he is destroyed by a card you control, he leaves behind one monster to defend me. I get to Special summon one Summoned Skull Archfiend from my hoof, deck, or graveyard!" Flash's eyes widen as Malebranche summons a Summoned Skull from his deck. {2500atk. 1200def. Lv6} "Now, since it is still my battle phase, and you are the one with no card on the field, I'LL CRUSH YOU!" Summoned Skull Shrieks loudly as he is struck by a bolt of Lightning. He then conducts the lightning and shoots right at Flash Magnus. Flash is struck and he lets out a long and painful scream as the lightning zaps a huge chunk of his life points. He eventually collapses to the ground and pants hard.
"Hehehe. You will parish element. I end by setting one card face down."

[Flash Magnus 800/ Malebranche 3200]

[Flash 2 cards/ Malebranche 2 card]

The shock was so painful, Flash stayed on the ground for a bit wincing. He slowly tries to make it back up to his hooves, but collapses again. Malebranche's smirk turns into a frown.
"Pathetic, and here I thought one of the Pillars, the ones who locked away my master, was going to put up a fight. Now here you are, laying before me. You are a disgrace. Get up, now. Face your doom with dignity, or lay there like a coward and forfeit." Said Malebranche.
"Come on Flash! You have to get up!" Yelled Silverstream. Flash slowly moves his head to look up into the stands. All the students were on the edges of their seats watching the duel. But his attention was mostly on Silverstream who was standing. "You have too! You represent Bravery...If you give up...the Elements are weakened..." Said Silverstream. Silver's words were touching to Flash, and he knew she was right. He closes his eyes tight and lowers his head. Slowly, he begins to glow.
"What? What is the meaning of this?" Questioned Malebranche. Slowly, Flash places one hoof firmly on the ground, then another, and with all his might, begins to stand. Malebranche said nothing as the higher flash stood, the brighter he glowed. Flash grits his teeth and finally, gets right back on his hooves, and stands tall. All students attending, then begin to clap, admiring Flash's will.
"This duel is not over Shadow, you will pay for your brutality." Said Flash. His voice sounded like as if multiple ponies were talking all at once, Malebranche only smirked at him.
"Finally, the element of Bravery shows itself. Now the real fun can begin." Said Malebranche.

"We now draw!" Said Flash. "We activate the spell card Graceful Charity to draw three cards, and discard two. Now prepare for our unbeatable combo! We summon an old friend, Gearfried The Iron Knight!"{1800atk. 1600def. Lv4.}
"How do you possibly plan to win with that?" Asked Malebranche.
"We are far from done, because now we activate the spell Release Restraint!" Said Flash.
"What? I have never heard of such a card. What does it do???" Asked Malebranche.
"If we have a Gearfried The Iron Knight on our field, he then becomes our most powerful monster!" Gearfreid's armor slowly begins to crack, this causes Malebranche to raise an eyebrow. Eventually, the armor shatters and a bright light surrounds Gearfried; when it dies down, his true form appears. "Behold! Gearfried The Swordmaster!" {2600atk. 2200def. Lv7}.
"...Incredible..." Said Brisk with his eyes wide.
"Now Monster, We equip him with the spell Divine Sword - Phoenix Blade! Giving him 300 extra attack, making him 2900! That is not all, now Gearfried's effect kicks in. As soon as he is equipped with an equip spell, He instantly destroys one of your monsters!" Yells Flash.
"WHAT!" MaleBranche calls out in anger. Gearfried wields his new sword tightly, With one slash, he easily cuts summoned skull in half and destroys him.
"Now Gearfried, Attack him directly!" Commanded Flash. Gearfried leaps high into the air and then brings his sword down hard onto Malebranche, who now is the one calling out in pain as their lifepoints dramatically drop. "With the last card in my hoof, I activate Card of Demise! I draw until I have three cards, but I must discard my whole hoof at the end. I play Blue medicine to heal myself for 400, then with the last two, I set. I now end."

[Flash Magnus 1200/ Malebranche 300]

[Flash 0 cards/ Malebranche 2 cards]

Malebranche surprisingly stays standing, but he is breathing heavily and has his head lowered. Suddenly, a massive amount of Shadows spew from his back like tentacles and fling themselves all over the place. He raises his head to show a very angry expression.
"You. Will. PAY!!!" Yelled Malebranche as he drew. "I activate my face down, Call of the Archfiend! I target one level 5 or higher Archfiend in my grave, I discard one card, and then special summon back my targeted Archfiend. I discard and bring back Summoned Skull! Now, I activate the card Star Changer! This allows me to lower his level by one, making him Level 5!"
"Now you have no cards in your hoof. What do you plan to do now?" Asked Flash.
"You wanna know? YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW!? Fine!" Yelled Malebranche as he reached into his graveyard and forcefully yanked out a card.
"Hey! That's cheating!" Said Silverstream.
"...I don't think he cares Silver." Said Ocellus. Malebranche holds the card out towards Flash, it was Flare Resonator that he used earlier. He then held it above his head. slowly, the shadows began to circle it, before shooting directly into the card. Flash, and the six students held their eyes open wide, it was their first time seeing a card get corrupted. They could hear the card cry out in agony which causes the element bearers to cover their ears. Silver and Ocellus even begin to tear up at the card's pain.
"Stop it! Make him stop!" Yelled Yona.
"Shadow! Cease! Halt NOW!" Yelled Flash but it was too late. He lowers the card and shows him it's new form. Malebranche smirks evilly at Flash.
"Now, I summon the monster, Dark Resonator!"{300atk. 1300def. Lv3 Tuner}

"You deserve nothing but pain for what you did, Shadow!" Said Flash through gritted teeth.
"Your threats mean nothing to me Element." Said Malebranche. "I now tune for 8, Synchro Summoning the most powerful Archfiend in my deck. hehehe I synchro summon, RED DRAGON ARCHFIEND!!!" {3000atk. 2000def. Lv8 Synchro} The huge Dragon is summoned to the field and lets out a loud and terrible roar. It stares down Flash and Gearfried like a hungry lion.
"Sweet Celestia! Look at it!" Yelled Brisk.
"That is the scariest looking dragon I have ever seen..." Said Gizmo.
"It's game over... no way he can beat that thing." Said Roulette. The other three stayed quiet as they all looked at Flash. He was unphased by the dragon and remained standing stoically.
"I know you have something planned with your face downs Flash, so I won't even bother attacking you this turn." Said Malebranche.
"...You are correct." Said Flash.
"Dude! Why are you giving away your strategy!?" Said Brisk in confusion.
"I don't think he is, I think he is trying to trick him into a trap." Said Ocellus. Malebranche smirked and Flash.
"As I thought, So now I end. He-he-he. Now that I'm in my end phase, My dragon's effect activates! All monsters on your side of the field that did not make an attack are DESTROYED! It's OVER!!!" Yelled Malebranche. Red Dragon Archfiend opens its mouth and builds up fire in his mouth and is about to destroy Gearfried. Gearfried holds his sword tight and grits his teeth. He looks back at Flash for help, Flash smirks and nods.
"I activate my Trap card, Skill Drain!" Almost immediately Red Dragon Archfiend powers down.
"What!? What did you do!?" Yelled Malebranche.
"Skill Drain is a powerful trap, I pay 1000 lifepoints, and all monster effects are NEGATED!"
"NO!...Wait... Hehe you know what, that's fine. Now you have locked yourself out of your monster's effect as well." Smirked Malebranche.

[Flash 200/ Malebranche 300]

[Flash 0 cards/ Malebranche 0 cards]

Red Dragon Archfiend leans forward towards Gearfried, drool leaking from his mouth. Gearfried stands his ground and shows no intimidation.
"Unfortunately Shadow, that can't be farther from the truth." Said Flash.
"What do you mean? You have no cards in your hoof." Said Malebranche.
"Heh, you must have forgotten my second face down." Said Flash. Malebranche's eyes widened and looks down at it. "Because of Card of Demise, I had to place this card down, or I would lose it, now that it's my turn, I can use it. First the draw, Now I activate, Mystical Space Typhoon!"
"NO!" Yelled Malebranche.
"I use it to destroy my own Skill Drain, now monster effects are back." Yelled Flash. Gearfried smirks while Red Dragon Archfiend flinches his head back and hisses. "Luckily for me, the card I just drew marked your end Shadow. A warrior is not complete unless he has a sword and shield, So I activate the equip Spell Bashing Shield!" Gearfried has a shield magically summoned into his other hand, it has a massive spike on it. Gearfried covers his chest with the shield and begins to rhythmically hit his shield with his sword. Malebranche stands motionless, staring at Flash. "This card gives my monster 1000 extra attack, making his total attack 3900! Not to mention, that's a second equip card, so now Red Dragon Archfiend is destroyed!" Gearfried charges the Dragon and once again leaps into the air, heading straight for the dragon's head. The dragon lets out a roar before Gearfried brings his sword down, and decapitates the dragon. Gearfried lands directly in front of Malebranche, who slowly looks up at him. The dragon falls, and is destroyed. "Now Gearfried, end this duel." Gearfried raises the sword, and strikes Malebranche, he calls out as he is launched backwards and loses.

[Flash Magnus vs. Malebranche: Winner Flash Magnus]

Slowly the field pell begins to melt away and the students are brought back to the arena. The shadows rush towards Malebranche who slowly gets back to his hooves, He says nothing, and he does nothing. All he does is give Flash Magnus a death stare. He locks eyes with the rider as the shadows begin to rip the soul from him, he does not scream, he doesn't even react as the shadows aggressively circle him and enter his eyes and mouth. Soon the shadows dissipate and Malebranche collapses to the ground, as Flash finally stops glowing. Everyone remains quiet and speechless. Eventually however, Rarity bursts in and quickly walks onto the center of the arena and makes a speech. She had to of been hiding behind the door to the arena while the duel was going on.
"Thank you all for participating in this dramatical duel! As an apology for classes ending early, expect to see dramas like this for your entertainment!" Said Rarity forcing a smile. The students slowly then begin to clap and even whistle.
"Wow! They really got me!" Said one student.
"That seemed so real! I can't wait for the next performance!" Said another. The only ones who weren't cheering were the six, as they really knew what was happening. They look towards the entrance to see their other professors slowly dragging Malebranche away and helping Flash as he limps away.

"Dude, that was messed up. Why don't the professors just send us home? We are practically on the front lines." Said Brisk.
"Because, it could cause students to spread the rumors back to their homes, it could cause a mass panic. If that happens, The Pony of Shadows could power up quicker." Said Ocellus.
"Besides, while pony students here, students are protected by pillar ponies, Professor ponies, and Yona friends." Said Yona
"Still, everyone is in danger with those creeps running about." Said Roulette.
"We should trust them, The Elements are powerful. They have saved Equestria more times than anypony can count." Said Gizmo.
"Thanks Gizmo, we promise to keep you guys safe." Said Silverstream with a comforting smile. Gizmo smiles back at her.
"Well... Would it be ok if we hang out with you guys more? That way we are extra safe?" Asked Roulette. The three lightly chuckle.
"Yeah, of course you guys can." Said Ocellus.

End of Chapter 13

Comments

[nightshroud96]

Managed to read it all so far.

So what you meant for Spike was he just becomes fodder and is down for nearly the entire story?

[k00l]

11481445
Nope, I already have great plans for him. But at this point I needed him for emotional drama

[nightshroud96]

11481478
Great plans in this fic?

[k00l]

11481480
I think so

[nightshroud96]

11481500
If its just him being quickly taken out for the entire fic and needs rescuing, it will be a huge letdown.

I feel like the drama bit didn't work well because of a few things.
One being he fell to darkness OFF SCREEN, it kind of comes off as rushed.
And felt more rushed since he wasn't a threat for long at all. He went out like fodder.
Along with since not much of other bearers saw him like this lessoned the impact.
And his threat felt messed up since Sandbar show he could have beaten him earlier but "went easy" on him.
And with the way Sandbar beats him comes off as its rubbed in that Spike is screwed since he is not a bearer. Its like destiny rubbed it in Spike's face hard.

I hope this wasn't too negative..

[k00l]

11481512
I actully foreshadowed Spike's coruption in Chapter 3. The same chapter Spike debuted in when helping out with Gizmo, this was at the end of the chapter "Soon all the creatures would also leave the arena, leaving it empty. From a dark corner, a Shadow with bright yellow eyes watches them leave. As soon as they are gone, the shadow seeps out through a window" This was show that the Pony of Shadows was stalking him. I was also taking inspiration from Yugioh GX a bit more with this when Jaden Encountered Alexis's brother Atticus as a Shadow Rider. The way I saw of making it emotional was to use someone they were close, but just like with Atticus, it won't be the last time we see him. He will appear again where he helps the group. But I cannot reveal much as Idon't want to spoil what will come next.

[nightshroud96]

11481523
But it still happening off screen is kind of a problem since we don't see what Spike ends up feeling that led to his fall.
The impact wasn't really felt enough since the Mane 6 did not witness what they caused him to become.

If he is down for the nearly(if not entire) entire conflict with the PoS, that will sting

Was my criticism ok actully?

[k00l]

11481561
Everyone has their opinion, any critisism you have is justified.

I didn't show anyone getting corupted, as I wanted there to be mystery until the reveal. That way there are questions as too who else may be a Shadow Rider. I feel like the mystery of who may be next would be more suspensful

[nightshroud96]

11481645
Though for Spike's case, it probably needed to be shown(or at least a flashback)