“Come on girls, just come with me back to the library!” Twilight begged to her friends. They all looked at her like she was crazy.

“Why, so that thing can just pound me into the ground again? No thank you,” Rainbow Dash said.

“Honestly Twilight, what makes you think we can trust that beast?” Rarity asked.

“He didn’t kill me when he had a clear chance. He even said he was going to, but he let me persuade him into not doing so. I don’t think he means to harm anypony. Can’t you just come with me and meet him at least?” Twilight was having a really hard time getting these ponies to go to the library with her, but a part of her truly did understand why they were so hesitant.

“Twi, ya gotta realize that that thing ain’t meant ta be trusted,” Applejack said. “You saw what it did ta Rainbow, din’t ya?”

“Yes, I did, but he was probably just acting in self-defense.”

“Twilight, it threatened us at first. Why else would I have attacked it?” Rainbow asked.

“Because you’re so stubborn, and we were all so afraid of him,” Twilight responded. Rainbow let out an annoyed groan.

“Twilight, what makes you think we can really trust him?” Fluttershy asked. Twilight just felt like she was getting asked this question over and over again.

“I don’t know, I just feel like there’s something about him that makes him trustworthy. It seems like he’s conflicted about something, but I don’t know what. Please girls, just come with me,” Twilight once again begged. They all looked to each other and then back to Twilight.

“Well, if you think we can trust him, then I’ll go with you,” Fluttershy said.

“Me too, but there’s no way I’m throwing that thing a “Welcome to Ponyville Party”,” Pinkie said.

“I suppose we can find a way to trust him, as much as I despise that fiend,” Rarity said.

“Ah’ll come along too I guess, but Ah sure as sugar won’t like it,” Applejack joined in. All eyes were now on Rainbow Dash. She looked at all of them and let out another groan.

“Fine,” she said. Twilight let out a soft sigh of relief.

“Thanks girls. Now then, let’s head back to the library.

The walk back to the library from Sugarcube Corner was a quick one. Twilight was confident in that she could get her friends to trust Scorpion, but the other five ponies all gave each other concerned looks. Rainbow Dash especially hated the fact that she was supposed to trust this thing.

Twilight opened the door to the library and the six ponies entered. Closing the door behind them, all that the six ponies saw upon entering was Spike, who was sitting on the couch. Twilight looked to him confusedly.

“Spike, where’d Scorpion go?” she asked him.

“Who?” Spike asked back, looking like he was trying to hide laughter.

“Spike, I’m serious! Where did Scorpion go?!” Twilight asked again. Spike pretended to look around the room.

“Honestly Twilight, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Spike responded. He let out a short chuckle.

“Spike, stop joking around! I heard you call out to me before when I left as to why I left you alone with him. Where is Scorpion?” Twilight was losing her patience now with the baby dragon.

“Oh, you mean… the guy that’s right in front of you,” Spike said.

“What are you…” Twilight started, but was interrupted when Scorpion jumped out from the ground in a fiery blaze. Still on fire, he leaned in towards the ponies let out a roar. They all screamed out and huddled together in fear. As Scorpion stopped his roar, the ponies could hear Spike laughing hysterically. They then heard Scorpion let out a short, maniacal laugh. Just like his voice, his laughter seemed to have a sort of echo to it.

While the other ponies were still huddled together, Twilight stood up and gave Spike a stern look. He was now rolling on the floor in a fit of laughter. Seeing as though she was not going to get his attention, she turned to Scorpion.

“Why would you scare us like that?!” Twilight asked Scorpion, giving him a stern look.

“Your dragon assistant thought it might be a good idea to give you girls a scare, and I saw no reason to deny that request. I thought you ponies were fragile before, but this makes it all too true,” Scorpion said, letting out a short chuckle.

“Is this how you want to start gaining my friends’ trust? Scaring them half to death?”

“To be quite honest, their trust doesn’t mean a damn thing to me, other than the fact that I need it to meet your Princess,” Scorpion said, showing no care towards the ponies he had just frightened. Rainbow Dash stood and walked up to him.

“Listen, bub! You think you can scare me and my friends like that?!” she asked him, now hovering and getting in his face.

“Well… yes,” Scorpion said, letting out another chuckle. “Now I would advise you to get out of my face, unless you wish for me to provide you with a second beating.” Rainbow immediately clamped up her wings at his threat and fell to the floor. She knew what this thing could do to her, and she didn’t need any more bruises.

“W-Well, y-you better watch your s-step, creep!” she said, trying to act tough. Scorpion jerked his body forward as a fake threat, which made Rainbow jump back. He let out a laugh as he watched the other ponies cower in fear.

“Twilight, I believe your friends are in need of some assistance,” Scorpion said, gesturing towards them. Twilight turned her back on Scorpion and looked to her friends.

“It’s okay girls, he won’t hurt us, it was just Spike’s idea for a prank on us is all.”

“Well it wasn’t a funny prank at all!” Pinkie shouted. Spike had now stopped laughing and had sheepishly walked over to Twilight.

“Hey, I just wanted to see what you would do,” he said.

“We’ll discuss this later, mister. As for now, we have some introductions to make,” Twilight said.

“I got yer intraductions right here Twilight,” Applejack said, standing up and standing in a fighting position. Scorpion let out an annoyed moan.

“Do you really wish to do this?” he asked. The orange pony started to ease off and shy away from her opponent.

“Ah… ah guess not,” she said.

“Enough of these feeble quarrels. I do not mean any of you ponies harm, at least, not anymore. You can calm down now,” Scorpion said, stepping away from the ponies and presenting himself in a peaceful manner. The six ponies all looked to him with concerned looks. They surely still had no amount of trust for him, but at least he wasn’t attacking them. For now.

“I am Scorpion, the Specter of the Netherrealm,” he said, bowing his head to the ponies. They all looked to each other and then to Twilight. She gestured for them to introduce themselves.

“Ah’m Applejack,” the orange pony said.

“I am Rarity. I would prefer if you stayed as far away from me as possible,” the white coated Unicorn said.

“I’m Pinkie Pie, and like I told my friends, you won’t be getting a “Welcome to Ponyville Party”,” the pink pony said.

“I-I’m F-Fluttershy,” the cream yellow Pegasus said, the one that Scorpion still remembered. They all waited on Rainbow Dash.

“I’m Rainbow Dash,” she said, looking at Scorpion angrily.

“I would say it is a pleasure to meet you all, but I can tell that none of us feel that way,” Scorpion said, looking to the six ponies.

“Clearly,” Rainbow Dash said. Scorpion shot her a glare.

“I understand your distaste for me, pony, but if you continue with this attitude, you may find yourself buried face first in the ground,” Scorpion threatened. She backed up a bit in fear, and Scorpion could feel that fear. Twilight then shot him a glare.

“Scorpion, if you’re going to gain our trust, you need to stop threatening us like that!” she said, raising her voice a bit.

“Perhaps you should inform your friends that I am not to be trifled with then,” Scorpion responded. Twilight let out a sigh.

“Look girls, the Princess would like to meet Scorpion, but I don’t trust him enough to let him do that yet, and I can clearly tell that none of you trust him at all. Until we all trust him well enough, I don’t want him coming in contact with the Princess. So, I want him to help us around Ponyville and get to know us all a bit better,” Twilight informed her friends.

“B-But Twilight, h-how will he h-help us around P-Ponyville if nopony can s-see him?” Fluttershy asked, her voice still shaking in fear. Twilight thought to herself for a moment. Fluttershy brought up a good point. Keeping Scorpion hidden from the rest of Ponyville would be difficult, especially if she wanted him to gain their trust by helping out. There was only one thing Twilight could think of.

“I guess we’ll just have to formally introduce Scorpion to the rest of Ponyville,” Twilight said. The five other ponies, and Spike, all looked at her like she was insane.

“Yeah, uh, Twilight, you do realize how crazy that sounds, right?” Spike asked.

“Yes, I do, but how else will Scorpion be able to roam free around Ponyville to help us and gain our trust if he has to be hidden all the time?” The other ponies and Spike all realized that this might be the only way to go.

“But what happens when everypony in town starts to riot like crazy?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, I’ll probably join in just to yell a lot, but still.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll go talk to the Mayor about setting up a presentation for Scorpion,” Twilight said. Everyone in the room, including Scorpion, knew that this probably wasn’t going to end well.