Scorpion’s pride and honor had been crippled, and he was the only one to think so. Everyone else in the Netherrealm now viewed Scorpion as either a true warrior, or an ever greater threat than ever before. He didn’t care in the slightest. All he needed to know was that he had been cheated.

Scorpion did not care so much for the fact that he had betrayed the ponies and killed their leader. More so, he cared for the fact that he was promised an unmatchable reward, but that promise was broken, and his reward never received. That was the true source of Scorpion’s grief. During his time in Equis, he went about his mission with the hopes of seeing his family and clan once again. But now he realized that this was never going to happen.

Yet, in the back of Scorpion’s mind, behind the thoughts of his forever lost family and clan, he couldn’t help but feel pain in his heart for the ponies he had betrayed so grossly. He didn’t nearly care as much for them as he did his fallen comrades, but there was just something about the ponies that he just couldn’t shake off.

Scorpion still had the ring given to him by the ponies as well. It was certainly helpful in his battle against Celestia, but now, it seemed like nothing but a painful reminder of what he had done. Yet, with all that he was feeling, he couldn’t get rid of it. He wanted so desperately to crush it or burn it, but he just couldn’t, and he didn’t know why. All he knew was that it meant something, whether that something be good or bad.

The Specter of the Netherrealm was now nothing but a ruined mess of childish emotions. He had gained much in the eyes of his comrades and allies, but had lost everything in his own eyes. And with only one week having passed since his vile deed was committed, he knew that this was only the beginning of his grief. So, the demon started to formulate a plan of revenge.

Scorpion’s plan was simple. He was to make his way to the Soul Chambers of the Netherrealm and steal Celestia’s soul back, destroying any who crossed his path. Once this was done, he would return to Equis, hopeful to avoid any confrontations with the ponies of the realm. Foreseeing that his actions would be discovered, he would face any more warriors from the Netherrealm that decided to oppose him, which would either end with deaths of his opponents or his own. If he was successful in completing his plan, he would flee the Netherrealm, knowing that he would be unwelcomed there and viewed as a traitor.

It seemed simple in Scorpion’s head, but things never do go as planned. Scorpion began to look over every detail of his plan, factoring in any possible outcomes. He knew fully well that Noob Saibot was often charged with guarding Soul Chambers, so the two were sure to clash in one way or another. Scorpion could easily handle any warriors from the Brotherhood of Shadows. And if it came down to facing Quan Chi, Scorpion would hold nothing back and kill his master if he had to.

Scorpion enacted his plan two days after the one week anniversary of Celestia’s death. He knew he would need better gear for the mission, so he dawned his Samurai Armor. His original sash, which was made of cloth, was replaced by a golden sash made of metal. His shoulders were protected by steel shoulder guards, each with the design of a scorpion on top. His gauntlets were made of black bones, with faces of evil protecting the outer portions of his arms, and scorpions on his underarms. His legs were protected by the same kind of armor his sash was made of. His belt buckle was a black skull, with chains wrapped around his waist. Under his armor was a black robe that covered all over his body and head, except for the upper portions of his arms.

His mask was also quite different. It was a large yellow plate covering his mouth, with scorpion arms moving off the plate and onto the sides of his face. The top of his mask was layered upwards with black armor. There was an elegant yellow trim that traced the edges of the top of his head as well.

Along with the visual changes, Scorpion’s blades were different as well. Instead of the jagged black blades he normally used, his blades were made of steel, gleaming in the light. The handles of the blades were black with yellow stripes, and below the handles were jagged dagger tips.

Scorpion readied himself in his quarters, stretching his limbs and sharpening his blades. He checked over his gear once more and made sure his armor was in top condition. Once he was ready, he teleported to the entrance of the Soul Chambers. As soon as he arrived, he was greeted by Noob Saibot.

“What brings you here Scorpion?” Noob asked.

“An errand for our master,” Scorpion lied.

“Do you think me a fool? I cannot simply let you enter without further knowledge. So tell me, what really brings you here?” Scorpion sighed in defeat. He realized that the only way to get through was to take Noob down.

“Very well Saibot. If you must know…” Without saying another word, Scorpion jumped back, lashed out his spear into Noob’s chest, and pulled him in.

“Get over here!” As Noob approached the specter, Scorpion delivered a powerful punch to Noob’s face, knocking him out cold.

“I am sorry Noob, but you will not stop me.” Scorpion entered the Soul Chambers, leaving the unconscious body of Noob behind.

As Scorpion entered, he gazed upon the hundreds of tombs that lined the walls and floors of the Chambers. Held within the tombs were the souls of the fallen. The souls belonged to all kinds of beings, ranging from Earthrealm humans, to Tarkatan warriors, to freaks of the Chaosrealm. If there was a race to be found in the world, the soul of one of its people could be found here. Quan Chi was quite a collector.

Scorpion began his search in the newest area of the Chambers. He figured since it was lined with unfilled tombs, Celestia’s soul was bound to be here. Scorpion searched for quite some time, but was unsuccessful to find her soul. At one point, he managed to find the soul of the manticore he had slain upon his arrival in Equis. It seemed practically hopeless.

And then, Scorpion happened upon a unique tomb, one that was unlike any other in the Chambers. It was riddled with strange markings and evil images, but it let off energy of purity and grace. Scorpion opened the tomb to find the soul of Princess Celestia.

“There you are,” Scorpion uttered to himself, pleased with his find. While the new embodiment of Celestia’s soul was evil and wicked, and seemed not to care for being controlled by Quan Chi, Scorpion could easily hear the cries for help coming from the soul. Scorpion took out a small pouch and deposited the soul into it. It was magically enchanted, keeping Celestia’s soul safely tucked away. With his target acquired, he readied himself to teleport back to Equis.

‘Now to finish the job,’ Scorpion thought to himself, as he teleported to the magical world.

Twilight Sparkle laid in her bed in the library, still sulking over the events of the last week. In one week’s time, she was still unable to let go of the fact that her beloved mentor was dead. What hurt her even more was that Scorpion, someone she had grown to care for and trust, had blatantly betrayed her and her friends. Twilight’s friends did what they could to comfort her, but nothing seemed to help.

“Uh, Twilight…” Spike called from behind the mare. Twilight wiped the few tears that had formed in her eyes out and turned around.

“What is it Spike?” she asked sternly.

“Fluttershy’s here to see you. She said it was something important.” With that, Spike led Twilight downstairs, where Fluttershy was waiting.

“Hello Twilight. How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked her friend.

“Still the same as yesterday,” Twilight answered. “What did you want to tell me?”

“Um, well, I was outside watering my plants, but I just happened to be looking over at the hill on the outskirts of Ponyville, and I think I saw… you know who,” Fluttershy said. Twilight’s eyes shot open.

“Are you sure?!” she asked hurriedly.

“Well, I think it was him. He did appear out of a fiery teleport and walked on two legs, so I’m pretty sure it was him.” Twilight’s look of shock turned to a look of anger.

“Fluttershy, let’s go get the rest of the girls. Spike, bring the Elements.”

“You sure Twilight?” Spike asked. Twilight nodded firmly. Spike got the Elements, and with them on his back, he and the two mares set out to gather the rest of their friends. Once the group was together, they headed for the hill, where they believed the demon still waited.

When the ponies arrived, they found nothing but a burnt spot in the grass, most likely from Scorpion’s teleportation. Searching around, it seemed like the ponies would be unable to find the demon. But, as Rainbow Dash flew higher into the air, she spotted the specter.

“Get back here you jerk!” she shouted, dashing towards him. Moments before she was about to fly into him, he disappeared. Rainbow landed on the ground and looked around for him.

“Show yourself!” she demanded. As if on cue, Scorpion reappeared.

“Hello Rainbow Dash,” Scorpion greeted.

“Shut up!” she spat at him. As Scorpion stared the furious mare in the eyes, he heard hoofsteps behind him. He turned around to see the rest of the ponies and Spike racing towards him.

“Ya got some nerve showin yerself here again Scorpion,” Applejack said, walking next to Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah! Nopony kills Princess Celestia and gets away with it!” Pinkie Pie shouted, pulling out her party cannon and aiming it at the specter.

“Come back to finish the job have you?” Rarity questioned.

“What are you talking about?” Scorpion asked.

“You’re here to kill Princess Luna,” Fluttershy chimed in, to Scorpion’s surprise. He knew this mare to be so fragile, but what he saw in her now was pure anger towards him.

“It was foolish of you to come to Ponyville, Scorpion. Now, you’re going to pay the price for what you’ve done,” Twilight said, opening the box held on Spike’s back. The Elements of Harmony each went to their respective owner. Scorpion watched in confusion as the ponies circled around him.

“What is this?” Scorpion asked, watching them intently.

“Your end,” Twilight answered. She charged her own Element, and starting from her, a rainbow circled around to the other ponies. Scorpion watched as the combined power of these objects, fueled by the ponies own energy no doubt, spiral over him in a magnificent rainbow beam.

It was unlike anything Scorpion had ever seen or experienced. As the beam struck him down, he was forced to the ground in an immense amount of pain. He could feel the rainbow tearing away at his exposed flesh and burning his insides. The energy from this beam was even greater than the attack Celestia had used on him. When the rainbow had finished its job, Scorpion was left lying on the ground in a small crater created by the blast. The ponies were all surprised as he quickly, but groggily, got back up after the attack.

“Oh no you don’t!” Rainbow shouted, jumping into the air and flying full speed towards Scorpion. Time slowed down, and everything went black and white.

Rainbow struck Scorpion in the back with a vicious head-butt, effectively cracking his back into pieces. Rainbow heard his muffled cries as she listened to his bones break. Scorpion landed on the ground with a thud, but his suffering wasn’t done there. Applejack jumped in front of him and bucked him in the face with her hind legs. Although it didn’t crack his mask, Scorpion’s jaw was cracked in multiple places. Applejack could feel his jaw breaking beneath her hooves.

As Scorpion landed on his back, he tried to get back up, but was met with a sharp pain in his gut. Rarity had blasted him with a violent blast of magic to his stomach. It passed straight through his body, and sent him to his hands and knees. Pinkie then ran up to him with her cannon. As Scorpion stood up without realizing this, his entire body was met with a powerful smack or confetti and streamers. Although it seemed to be harmless, it in fact managed to pierce Scorpion’s exposed skin and sent him to the floor once again.

Fluttershy and Spike abstained from doing anything to the specter, but they were able to make out every cry and crack coming from the demon. And they enjoyed watching him suffer, as sick as it seemed. As Scorpion stood up one last time, he was met with another blast to his entire body from Twilight, who shot him with a blast quite similar to what Celestia had done to him. He burned in every place on his body, and fell to the floor in agony.

As the onslaught was finished, everything went back to normal.

“Now… he’s done…” Twilight said, panting from the amount of energy the attack had taken out of her. But to her and her friends’ surprise, Scorpion managed to get back up, almost shaking off the attacks like they were nothing.

“That’s impossible!” Rainbow Dash shouted in frustration.

“I must say…” Scorpion began, breathing heavily, “you ponies certainly know how to wound an adversary. But I’m sorry to tell you that your efforts to fatally wound me are futile.” The girls and Spike all looked at the demon, with his armor cracked in only a few places, and the burns on his skin healing. Twilight stomped the ground with all her might.

“You’re not getting away with what you’ve done! We won’t let you!” Twilight screamed.

“Yeah!” the others screamed in unison.

“I understand your rage towards me, believe me. But I am not here to murder Princess Luna, as you believe. I am here to resurrect Princess Celestia,” Scorpion told them. The ponies and young dragon looked at each other.

“You can’t expect us to believe that,” Rainbow said.

“Yeah, you just came back fer Princess Luna! We know it!” Applejack added.

“Rest assured, I have no intentions of harming your Princess. If you need proof of what I have told you, here it is.” Scorpion opened his pouch and revealed the soul of Princess Celestia to the ponies, who all gasped in shock at the sight.

“Is that… her soul?” Twilight asked.

“Yes, it is. My mission was to claim Celestia’s soul for my master, Quan Chi. He promised, in return, to bring my family and clan back to life. You are aware of their fate, Twilight Sparkle. However, my master had lied to me, and did not make good on his promise. Therefore, I seek revenge on him. He does not deserve to control the soul of your leader, and so I have decided to bring her soul back to you so that we may resurrect her.” The ponies couldn’t believe what they were hearing. The evidence Scorpion had presented was pretty heavy as well. Still, they didn’t know if they could trust him.

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Twilight asked.

“I have no further evidence to provide you with. You will simply have to take my word for it and bring me to the body of Celestia, so that we may reunite it with her soul,” Scorpion answered. Twilight looked to the rest of her friends in worry.

“I suppose I don’t need to be here when you bring her back. I merely had to deliver her soul to you. So, with that being said and done, I will take my leave.” Scorpion bowed his head to the ponies and walked away. Neither the ponies nor Spike tried to stop him, as he left them behind. However, Scorpion was stopped by a black hole that appeared in front of him. In moments, Noob Saibot emerged from it.

“It was very foolish of you to betray the Netherrealm in this way Scorpion,” Noob said, his voice sending shivers down the spines of the ponies and Spike. “But I’m afraid to inform you that your actions have earned you an early demise.” Scorpion and Noob stared each other down, both of them with rage in their eyes. The ponies and young dragon behind the two warriors watched in horror, not knowing what to expect.

Author's Notes:

Wow, Scorpion got his ass kicked by ponies again. But hey, at least he didn't hit them back.

I hope I made it clear that Scorpion isn't doing this because he feels bad for the ponies. Well, it's kind of because of that, but more so because he was betrayed by Quan Chi. Please do not say he's being a pussy and doing it for the ponies. Scorpion ain't that kind of demon.

Also, I've hope I described the new look that Scorpion had taken on. And if you think my description wasn't that great, just take a look at the new cover art I added for the story.