The group arrived in Canterlot in a flash of fire, winding up in Celestia’s throne room. As if on cue, all of the guards in the room pointed their spears at the sudden arrivals to the room. Princess Luna, sitting on Celestia’s throne, looked to the group in shock. She was perfectly fine with the ponies and Spike being there, but the arrival of Scorpion greatly displeased her.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Luna demanded, stomping her hoof on the floor. Scorpion turned to the Princess, staring her down. Luna met the demon with her own rage-filled glare.

“Princess Luna,” Twilight interjected, “Scorpion has returned with Princess Celestia’s soul,” she explained. Luna looked at the lavender unicorn with a quizzical look.

“Do you expect me to believe that?” Luna asked. “I find this quite hard to believe.”

“Believe it, Princess,” Scorpion said. She continued to glare at him.

“You are obviously here to kill me, just like you did my sister. Well I assure you, the only one to perish on this day will be you!” With that, Luna stood up from the throne and charged her horn with magic. But before she could do anything, the Element Bearers and Spike stood in front of Scorpion, shielding him. This surprised everyone in the room, including Scorpion.

“What are you doing?! Step aside!” Luna demanded.

“All due respect Princess, but there’s no way in Equestria that we’re movin!” Applejack said.

“Yeah! Scorpion’s here to make everything better!” Pinkie added.

“We’re sorry Princess Luna, but you have to listen to us,” Twilight said. Luna looked at the ponies in both confusion and slight anger.

While Luna looked at the ponies and Spike in confusion, Scorpion looked at them in admiration. They would let themselves take the force of Luna’s attacks, rather than letting him suffer. They cared for him. Scorpion couldn’t even begin to comprehend it, but it was happening.

“Has he truly returned my sister’s soul to us?” Luna asked, her voice lowering in volume.

“He has,” Twilight answered. Luna then looked from the ponies to Scorpion.

“Show me.” Scorpion, who had been given Celestia’s soul to hold on to, opened his pouch and held the soul of the Princess in his hand. Luna looked on in amazement. “Very well then. To my sister’s grave.” With that, Luna stood up and led the group to her sister’s place of burial.

When the group arrived, Scorpion looked at the tomb that had been created for Princess Celestia. It was quite large, probably able to hold more than one corpse. Scorpion watched as the guards opened the tomb and brought out the casket that held Celestia’s body. Upon opening it, Scorpion saw her body, replenished as well as it could be. Celestia’s horn had been reconnected, and her scars and bruises had been tended to. Scorpion then looked to Luna.

“Would you have the honor of bringing her back?” Luna asked. Scorpion looked at her in surprise. He then turned to the ponies standing behind him. They all nodded to him and gestured for him to go on. Scorpion looked back to Celestia’s body as he pulled out her soul.

“Princess Celestia, return to us now.” Scorpion pushed the soul into Celestia’s chest, lighting up the surrounding area with a bright light. As the light began to increase in intensity, Celestia’s body rose out of the casket. Celestia opened her wings and eyes, which amazed everyone. Scorpion watched as the revitalized Princess lowered herself to the ground, her stature unmatched.

Everyone waited patiently for the revived Princess to say something. Celestia turned her head to Scorpion, preparing for the worst. But, to his immense surprise, she walked up to him and bowed her head to him. Scorpion didn’t know what to do, so he simply bowed in return. As the two brought their heads back up, Celestia smiled at the specter.

“Scorpion,” she began, “what is it that has brought you to bring me back?” she simply asked.

“Revenge,” Scorpion simply answered. “The prize I was promised for your soul was not delivered. So, as an act of vengeance, I have brought you back from the dead. It is as simple as that.”

“I believe it is something more than that,” Celestia said. Scorpion didn’t want to admit it, but she was right. As the ponies standing behind him gathered around their Princess and smiled at her, he couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his heart that he had not felt since that last day he had been with his family.

And when the ponies all smiled at him, especially Twilight, he finally realized what they meant to him. They were his… friends. They were the only thing he had needed in his life for a long time now. What started as a simple act of vengeance had turned to a moment of realization and revelation. The hole left in Scorpion’s heart by his family and clan had been healed. Perhaps not fully, but to some great extent no doubt.

“I… I believe you are right Princess Celestia,” Scorpion said. “While I may not be the easiest person to associate with, I can assure you all that I am eternally grateful for what you have done for me. But now, I must go.” Scorpion turned and walked away. The ponies behind him watched in surprise as he walked away. Twilight ran up to him and stopped him.

“Where do you think you’re going?” she asked sternly.

“Somewhere I haven’t been in a very long time, Twilight Sparkle,” he answered.

“W-Where?” Fluttershy asked from behind him. Scorpion turned to the rest of the ponies.

“Home.” Everyone surrounding Scorpion looked at him with understanding faces. They all nodded to him, smiling all the while. Scorpion nodded back to them, and then turned to Twilight. He knelt down and looked in her eyes.

“Twilight Sparkle, I must express my greatest thanks to you especially. You were the one to house and feed me during my stay here. And above all, you were the one that understood me the most. For that, you have my thanks.” Scorpion nodded to her, and with a tear in her eye, she nodded back. And then, once again to Scorpion’s surprise, she hugged him. Now Scorpion was really lost.

“We’ll miss you Scorpion,” Twilight said. She let go and stepped away from him. Scorpion stood up and turned to the rest of the group.

“And to all of you, thank you. And Princess Celestia, my deepest apologies for my previous acts.”

“While I may not be able to fully forgive you, and I can assure you that you have my thanks for accepting my little ponies as your friends,” she answered. Scorpion smiled under his mask and nodded to them one final time. But when he turned back to Twilight, he couldn’t help but offer her something she had been wanting for a long time.

“Actually, Twilight Sparkle, before we say goodbye, there is something I would like to show you,” Scorpion said to her.

“W-What?” she asked.

“And when I say home, I mean my true home. Not the Netherrealm,” Scorpion added. Twilight looked to the rest of her friends, who all smiled and nodded in approval.

“Well… yes!” Twilight answered. Scorpion nodded to her and then looked back to the rest of the ponies and Spike.

“I suppose this isn’t a goodbye then. I shall return her within a few hours. Until that time, farewell,” Scorpion said to the group.

“Wait, what about me?!” Spike asked. Everyone laughed.

“If Twilight will allow it,” Scorpion said. Twilight looked to her faithful assistant with a smile, gesturing him to jump on to her back, which he happily did. With one final nod, Scorpion teleported himself, Twilight, and Spike to Earthrealm.

As Scorpion, Twilight, and Spike arrived in Earthrealm, they were immediately greeted with the sight of pure destruction. A destroyed village sat in front of them. Twilight and Spike were initially shocked, and couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Scorpion, on the other hand, felt his heart sinking into his stomach. He had not been here for many years, and seeing his home like this only worsened his grief. Twilight and Spike looked up to him.

“Scorpion, are you alright?” Twilight asked.

“I… I do not know,” Scorpion answered. He looked down to the two of them. “Are you sure you wish to join me as I venture through my home?” They both nodded. “Very well.”

Scorpion led Twilight and Spike through the village of the Shirai Ryu. They saw burnt houses and market stalls, crumbled statues, dried up plants, and even a few skeletons of the fallen. It all brought back painful memories to Scorpion. Twilight and Spike couldn’t comprehend how anyone could do something like this. They had dealt with evil in the past, but they had never really seen destruction of this magnitude. Overall, the three were left with heavy hearts.

Finally, the group arrived at Scorpion’s home. They stood at the entrance for a moment. Twilight and Spike watched as Scorpion scanned the outside of his home. He then looked down to his two friends.

“I would request of you to stay out here. I wish to do this on my own,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked. Scorpion nodded. Twilight and Spike respected his wish and waited outside as Scorpion entered his home.

Just entering his old home was too much for Scorpion. He gazed upon old antiques and furnishings that had been ruined from years of disuse. Scorpion’s gaze quickly turned from the rest of his house to the exact spot where his wife and child were murdered. He walked over and knelt down. The blood left behind was barely there anymore, mostly having dried up, but just a little bit still remained. Scorpion almost felt himself coming to tears.

“Scorpion!” Twilight cried from outside.

“Ghosts!” Spike added on. Scorpion stood up and rushed outside. He saw Twilight and Spike cowering in fear at what was in front of them. But what Scorpion saw did not frighten him in the slightest. In fact, it gave him a slight amount of hope.

“Twilight Sparkle, Spike, I assure you that you have nothing to fear. These are the souls of the fallen Shirai Ryu. But, what brings them here, I wonder,” Scorpion said. He approached the nearest soul, the master of the clan from what he could tell.

“Scorpion,” the elder spoke. Scorpion immediately bowed his head. “You have returned at last. Tell us, what has brought you here?” the spirit asked.

“I simply wished to revisit my fallen home, as well as introduce my new friends to Earthrealm,” Scorpion answered, presenting Twilight and Spike, who nervously waved to the spirits.

“It seems your life has not been in vain after all. But now that you are here, listen to us.” The elder took on a more serious tone and look, to which Scorpion responded with his own serious look.

“You have been deceived,” the elder began. “The white sorcerer you now call master has lied to you Scorpion.” Scorpion listened now with great interest. “It was Quan Chi who saw to our demise. It was he that ordered the Lin Kuei to have our clan destroyed. He is responsible for our deaths.”

“What?!” Scorpion shouted in pure rage. His entire body lit up in flames.

“Heed our orders. Return to the Netherrealm and destroy Quan Chi. Avenge our deaths Scorpion.” And without another word, the spirits disappeared. Scorpion stood there, his fists clenched and shaking in anger.

“Scorpion? Y-You alright there buddy?” Spike asked nervously. Scorpion turned to them with fire in his eyes.

“We are going to the Netherrealm, now!” Scorpion said, with a demanding voice. Twilight and Spike both shyly nodded, afraid of what the specter could do. Scorpion tried to remain calm and lessen his anger, so as not to frighten the unicorn and dragon.

“I am sorry, but with what I now know, I cannot let my master remain alive. Therefore, we are going to the Netherrealm. Would you care to join me?” Scorpion asked.

“We’ll be with you the whole the whole way through,” Twilight said.

“Yeah. We’ll show Chin Chi not to mess with Scorpion!” Spike said proudly. Twilight and Scorpion laughed.

“His name is Quan Chi, Spike,” Twilight corrected.

“Oh… right,” Spike said, chuckling. Twilight and Spike looked at Scorpion with determined looks.

“Very well then. Let us go,” Scorpion said. And as Twilight and Spike gathered around him, they teleported to the Netherrealm.

Author's Notes:

Seems legit to me. Was that good? I thought it was good. So again, seems legit.

Yes, I realize that I made Scorpion seem a little sappy. Get over it. He can have some sweet moments, can't he? Besides, it's not like he's always doom and gloom... mostly.