Scorpion tried to be as patient as he could. He had only one more pony to fool before he could finally get to Celestia, and ultimately kill her. But, Rainbow Dash seemed to be proving that she was even more stubborn than Applejack. Scorpion had waited for two whole days to hear from that Pegasus, and he was getting a little tired. He walked out of his room to meet Twilight and Spike in the main room of the library.

“Where is Rainbow Dash?” he asked.

“Scorpion, I know that you’re getting a little anxious to help Rainbow Dash, but I don’t know where she is or why she hasn’t come to us yet with something for you to do,” Twilight said.

“No offence, but maybe it’s because you pounded her into the ground,” Spike said, chuckling a bit. Scorpion looked at the dragon, which immediately made him stop laughing.

“I do not care what her problem with me is. I have been waiting for too long for this irritable Pegasus to show up. Must I do the same as I did with Applejack and confront Rainbow Dash myself?” Scorpion said, his voice showing clear signs of aggravation.

“You could try, but more than likely she’ll be up in the clouds. And I don’t exactly think you can fly,” Spike said. Scorpion let out an aggravated sigh.

“Don’t worry Scorpion, she’ll show up eventually. In the meantime, why don’t you help Spike and I around the library? Maybe that’ll help you take your mind off of things,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, today’s Twilight’s big reshelving day. She’s basically going to take down every book in the library and reshelf them. Even with her magic, it can take a while,” Spike informed Scorpion. Scorpion simply shrugged his shoulders and then nodded his head.

“Very well, but if that Pegasus does not show up in the next day, I will hunt her down myself.”

And with that, Twilight smiled and lit up her horn. All of the books in the library were held up in the air by her magical grip. A second later, they all fell to the floor. And yet, another second later, many of them were floating once again in Twilight’s magical hold. They began to circle around her as she read off the names and shelved the books. Scorpion picked up a few and read off the names. Twilight told him to place the three books on the table, as she would be reading them again later.

“How often does she do this?” Scorpion asked Spike.

“Too often,” Spike answered, picking up a few books. He read the names and knew just where to put them. With those few books now shelved, Spike and Scorpion continued to help Twilight with her reshelving. But, a few minutes into the whole process, a knock was heard from the door. Twilight continued to look over the books, so Spike naturally answered the door. Standing there was Rainbow Dash.

“Finally decided to show up, did you?” Scorpion asked mockingly.

“Yeah, yeah, just be glad I finally found something for you to do, you freak,” Rainbow mocked right back. Scorpion let out a growl, but the argument caught Twilight’s attention. She stepped in front of Scorpion and shook her head at him, trying to get him to stand down. He calmed down a bit, but he was still just a bit angry.

“Well Rainbow, you think you’ve finally thought of something that Scorpion could help you with?” Twilight asked her friend.

“Sure do,” Rainbow answered simply. Scorpion raised his eyebrow at the Pegasus. He could only wonder what task she had in store for him.

“What did you have in mind?” Scorpion asked.

“Oh, I’ll tell you when we get there,” Rainbow answered back. Scorpion could only shrug and shake his head. He looked at Twilight who simply nodded for him to go with her. Scorpion followed the cyan Pegasus out the door, still not knowing where they would be going.

After a short walk through Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Scorpion found themselves on the outskirts of the town, far from any viewing eyes. Scorpion now knew where they were, but he had no idea why they were there.

“What task has brought us here?” Scorpion asked. Rainbow walked a few feet away from him, then turned to face him. She stood in a combat ready position.

“It’s time for a little payback, Scorpion,” Rainbow said, kicking up the dirt with her hindlegs. Scorpion let out a chuckle.

“You wish to fight me, again? Do you not remember our last battle?” Scorpion asked.

“Oh believe me, I remember. I remember how I had you beat, but you got a lucky hit on me.”

“Believe me when I say your attacks are nothing but pathetic. Your feeble strikes only did well to bother me. I assure you, you do not want to do battle with me again.” Scorpion was really trying to talk her down, but she showed no signs of letting go of this.

“Yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that. I don’t care. This time, I’m gonna win. You’re goin down Scorpion,” Rainbow said, the determination in her voice even greater than before.

“And what will this prove?” Scorpion asked.

“Well, if you win, you’ll gain my trust. If you lose… well, we’ll see.”

“I fail to see where my victory over you in combat gains me your trust,” Scorpion said, still not wanting to fight the eager pony.

“Look, can we just fight already. I’ve been waiting for a while to knock your face in, and I’m finally gonna get to do it,” Rainbow said, kicking up the dirt with her forelegs now. Scorpion simply sighed and looked at the pony.

“You will regret your impulsiveness,” Scorpion said, standing ready to fight.

In a flash, Rainbow was off, charging towards Scorpion. But, Scorpion foresaw this as her tactic, and managed to sidestep her. She flew past, only to loop around and head right back for him. Scorpion was quick enough to block the attack, causing Rainbow to flip around in the air. With her still in the air, Scorpion pulled out his blades and used his Blade Overhead attack to send Rainbow higher into the air. Scorpion jumped up, grabbed her, spun her around, and threw her back to the ground.

“You are outmatched, Rainbow Dash,” Scorpion said, landing on the ground. Rainbow stood back up and spit on the ground.

“I’m not giving up until I’ve beaten you!” she said back to him, kicking up the dirt behind her. She flew into the air, high above Scorpion. He could only wonder what she was doing now. Rainbow started to dive bomb right back down towards him. Scorpion readied himself, but just as she was about to make contact with him, she turned away from him and flew parallel to the ground. She flew right back to him and started to spin around him.

“What is this?” Scorpion tried to lash out and hit her, but she was too fast. She had picked up enough speed to create a small tornado, lifting Scorpion up off the ground and sending him into the air. Rainbow flew up after him. She got enough height that she was now over him. With this advantage, she charged straight down, tackling him in mid-air. Just as they were about to hit the ground, Rainbow let go of Scorpion, sending him crashing into the ground.

“How you like that?” Rainbow mocked, as a small cloud of dust started to appear from the crash. She was answered by a sudden spear that flew right out of the dust. The spear was lodged right into Rainbow’s chest. Oddly enough, it didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would, but when she was suddenly yanked over, the pain felt worse.

“Get over here!” Scorpion shouted, pulling Rainbow in towards himself. With her dazed and in pain, Scorpion crossed over his right fist and punched Rainbow in the face with a right hook. He did the same with his left, landing a powerful left hook. To finish off, Scorpion grabbed his right blade and slammed it down onto Rainbow, sending her across the floor. Scorpion’s Brimstone combo proved quite effective, as Rainbow showed signs of her getting weaker.

“As I said, you are outmatched,” Scorpion said mockingly. He used his Flameport Enhanced Attack, teleporting next to Rainbow. Upon reaching her, he landed a left punch, followed by a flaming right uppercut. Rainbow tried to get up, but Scorpion was quick enough to rush over and use his Takedown Special Attack, tripping Rainbow onto the ground with a hard thud. Scorpion rolled back and away from her and stood there as she again tried to get up.

“Enough of this pointless quarreling. This will prove nothing to either of us. I can tell that you are hurt, Rainbow Dash, so I will leave you to regain your strength. When you have a task for me to complete, come find me at the library.” Scorpion turned and started to walk away from the injured mare. But, Rainbow was a lot more resilient than that.

“I don’t think so,” she said shakily.

Everything went black and white for Rainbow Dash, and shortly after, the same happened to Scorpion. Rainbow charged forward towards the unsuspecting demon. With all her might, Rainbow turned around and bucked Scorpion’s back. As her hindlegs collided with his ribs and spine, time seemed to slow down, as Rainbow heard the agonizing cry from Scorpion. Even his cry was slowed down. Scorpion fell to his hands and knees, in pain from the sudden sneak attack. Rainbow used this to her advantage. She flew up into the air and looped back down towards Scorpion. Flying right in front of him, time slowed down once again as Rainbow rammed Scorpion’s skull with her own. Another slow and painful cry came from Scorpion as everything was slowed once again. Rainbow could feel Scorpion’s skull cracking in some places. With her attack completed, Scorpion flew back onto the ground, and everything came back into color.

“I’m sorry, what was that about being outmatched?” Rainbow Dash mocked. Yet, even with an attack as powerful as that, Scorpion kicked up and stood there as if nothing had happened. “What the…” but Rainbow had no chance to finish her statement. Scorpion engulfed himself in flames and teleported behind her. Scorpion landed a powerful punch to Rainbow’s torso, causing her to spin around to face him.

Yet again, everything went black and white. Scorpion got to one knee and landed three powerful uppercuts to the frontal underside of Rainbow’s torso. With each hit, Scorpion could feel the pain erupting inside of Rainbow, and Rainbow could feel her bones breaking. Rainbow’s head fell over, yet she still stood. Standing back up, Scorpion jumped into the air. Coming back down, his left elbow dove down onto Rainbow’s back, cracking her bones. Rainbow’s screams were slowed down, yet they were very audible to Scorpion. Rainbow fell to the ground in an increasing amount of pain. As she fell, everything went back into color.

“I’m sorry, was that too much for you?” Scorpion mocked. Rainbow could only cough and spit up blood. She turned onto her side in pain. She was trying to get back up, but Scorpion simply knelt down on his right leg and put his right hand on her head.

“I’m not… giving up…” Rainbow said groggily.

“I will not allow you to continue with this fight, Rainbow Dash. You have proved yourself well enough to me, but you must stop this pointless banter now. Your body is not meant to take on the full impact of my attacks. Please, cease your struggle.” Rainbow decided for once to listen to the specter and rested her head back down on the ground. She was still coughing a bit, but not as much as before.

“You sure do… pack a punch…” Rainbow said. Her breathing was starting to return to normal, and she was no longer spitting or coughing up blood. To her own amazement, the pain seemed to start to fade away. “Um, do you think I should go to the doctor?” she asked.

“Well, most likely, but the attacks you received were not as strong as I normally perform them. If this were a real fight, you would be dead right now.”

“I feel like I could die,” Rainbow said, laughing a bit. Scorpion couldn’t help but join in the laughter as well.

“I apologize for what I have done here, Rainbow Dash,” Scorpion said, nodding his head to her.

“Ah, don’t worry about it. I asked for it anyway,” Rainbow responded, starting to get up. Scorpion allowed her to do so, and to his own amazement, she stood tall with her head held high.

“You are quite the resilient pony, Rainbow Dash.”

“Well, it comes from being an athlete, but I’m probably gonna go to the hospital anyway just to make sure I’m not in any dire trouble.”

“That is for the best.” Scorpion got to his feet and stood over the cyan blue Pegasus. “Will you be able to make it to the hospital by yourself?”

“Yeah, I should be good. And don’t worry about needing my trust anymore, cause you’ve got it Scorpion.” Rainbow’s words greatly confused the demon.

“I do not understand. I nearly killed you, after having already pummeled you into the ground in the forest, yet now you trust me? Why?” Scorpion asked. Rainbow turned back around to face him.

“Because you’re a real fighter. I can respect guys like you. Plus, the rest of my friends seem to trust you, and if I don’t trust you, I’ll look like the bad guy in all of this.” Scorpion chuckled at that. “Anyway, I’ll stop by later at the library once I’m finished at the hospital. See you around Scorpion,” Rainbow finished, deciding to fly to the hospital, even in her current condition. Scorpion let out a heavy sigh. When Rainbow was far enough from him, he started to laugh.

“These ponies truly do have some strange methods and habits, but if it gets me closer to killing Celestia, it’s fine for me. Now all I must do is truly gain Twilight Sparkle’s trust, and I will have Celestia’s head!” Scorpion headed back for the library, confident that he could woo over Twilight Sparkle just as he had her friends.

Author's Notes:

Yes, Scorpion just beat up Rainbow Dash again. And yes, she completely trusts him now because of it. And yes, Scorpion performed Jonny Cage's X-Ray Move. Deal with it, deal with it all!