Scorpion and Pinkie Pie were well on their way from the Carousel Boutique after completing their task of helping Rarity find the jewels she coveted. An added accomplishment was Scorpion's newly-obtained ability to put his strong, albeit-obstinate pride aside for the sake of others. Although, Scorpion pondered deeply on whether this could be considered an 'accomplishment' or a sign of this horse-littered world beginning to take its toll on him. He HAD been here since the early morning and well into the late afternoon... at least, so far as he could tell by the waning sun, considering he had no idea how time moved in this world. Naturally, he assumed it flowed similarly to that of his own world. In addition, it had been VERY long since the ninja last showed any signs of thinking about anyone but himself, as he'd only ever made moves toward his own motives (even while under the servitude of someone else since his rebirth in Hell). He thought back to his battle with Liu Kang... Pinkie Pie's tearful pleas as the specter tried to barbecue the monk with his flamethrower breath... his hesitation and resulting unwillingness to bring harm to Pinkie Pie...

"What's the matter, Scorpie?" Pinkie asked in concern. "You seem a little blue."

"...I am fine. You need not worry about me," he curtly responded, unwilling to converse with his comrade.

"I dunno... I feel like you're thinking about something that's really bothering you... Something having to do with what happened when we were helping Rarity..." Little did she know, Pinkie hit the nail on the head.

"...The issue is none to be concerned about. I am okay," the ninja confirmed despite being a little shocked that Pinkie sensed exactly what was wrong without needing to prod it out of him.

"...If ya say so. I just hope you know that if you need someone to talk to, I'm here for ya." She flashed him an adorably jubilant smile that nearly made the already-addled wraith freeze in his tracks. Such caring... such generous consideration from someone he'd just met and had wanted to stab with his kunai before strangling with the chain attached to it... Even odder, he'd made it known he'd wanted her dead using the most excruciatingly gruesome, macabre methods imaginable. Yet, this enigmatic talking pink horse creature still found it in herself to openly show him nothing but friendly compassion. Scorpion had not been shown this sort of affection from anyone other than the family he so dearly missed... After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"Your thought of me is to be commended, pink one..." he reluctantly said, not sure if he still hated Pinkie enough to kill her. Pinkie took this compliment as the highest praise, as she jumped into his arms and squeezed him tight. She continued her gesture by snuggling her face into the specter's neck. It was at this moment, of course, that Scorpion's will to violently end Pinkie returned. He wanted to drag her into the same plane of the Netherrealm as he did that diamond dog and force her to watch said dog get Drawn & Quartered, and then eaten by the ravenous souls of those doomed to forever dwell in that miserable, forsaken cesspool of a realm before making her go through the same ruthlessly brutal procedure.

His luridly grotesque death fantasy was interrupted when the duo heard sniffling in the distance as they traveled into what seemed to be a park. Pinkie jumped down from Scorpion's clutches (a wise move on her part), and rushed toward a nearby oak tree to find a quivering ball of burnt orange and byzantine purple.

"There you are, Scootaloo!" Pinkie excitedly announced before noticing the mood of the ball she was talking to. "Aww, you're still upset..." the ball unfurled and revealed itself to be another equine, much smaller in stature than Pinkie, yet bearing wings that looked too small to support its weight should it have decided to take flight. The only notable difference to be seen of this particular specimen was that, unlike the rest of this race of sentient equines, she'd had no branding on her backside.

"*sniffle* Hey, Pinkie..." the filly somberly greeted, seeming to be in no mood for idle chatter in the wake of her profound sadness.

"Turn that frown upside-down, Scoots!" Pinkie shouted in her usually-excitable tone as she began using her tail as a makeshift spring. "I brought you a new friend to play with!" The young winged horse took a look at Pinkie as if she were insane (which is debatable, as she'd been spending most of her day with a homicidal demon from an alternate universe's Hell that made it known that he wanted to slaughter her).

"Pinkie, I said I DIDN'T want new friends..." the young pegasus known as Scootaloo dismally replied. "In fact, I remember telling you to just leave me alone..."

"I know a cry for help when I hear one, Scoots, so here I am, helping you in the bestest, most fun-tastic way I can! C'mon, lemme introduce ya!" With that, Pinkie dragged the unwilling filly from her sulking spot and pushed her to where she was standing at the feet of a volatile demon who'd kill without a second thought. Predictably, the apprehensive filly slowly backed away in whimpering fear.

"Do not be afraid, little one," Scorpion spoke first, the unusual sound of his voice freezing her in place. "I will not bring harm to you."

"Wh-wh-wha...?" Scootaloo had been stricken speechless as she wiped the tears from her violet-colored eyes. "Who... a-are you...?"

"I am Scorpion. I am here to assist you."

"Assist me?? Wha...? H-How?"

"You will explain to me what brings you grief and I will lend you a hand in relieving your dejection." Scorpion's explanation, being just a little too wordy for a school-aged foal, baffled the already-startled and thoroughly-discombobulated Scootaloo.

"I... I didn't understand any of that..."

"Scorpie said he'd help cheer you up!" Pinkie translated, though she said the magic word again.

"You are fortunate, pink one, that I am unable to rip your tongue from your putrid face and tie your irritating mouth shut with it...!" he threatened yet again. It only comes as a surprise that he didn't threaten to kill her this time; only to horrifically disfigure her. A sign of progress if one is to be observed. His death stare at Pinkie was only interrupted when he heard giggling coming from down below. Pinkie and Scorpie took a look at the source of the giggling, each taking a different aspect of surprise when they saw it.

"Heh, that's pretty funny..." Scootaloo muttered, seeming to find humor in Scorpion's violent threat.

"What do you find humorous, little one?"

"Oh, nothing... just the thought of you tying Pinkie's mouth shut with her own tongue..." she answered, giggling a little more.

"I see... Are you feeling devoid of your previous sadness?" he asked, hoping to the Elder Gods who'd forsaken him that this task would be THAT easy.

"Kinda, now that you mention it..." the spiky-haired little pony answered, her spirits seeming to fall again. "I'm... still a little bummed, though..."

"Don't you worry, Scoots! We're gonna do whatever it takes for you to cheer up and be that happy-go-lucky, scooting, tooting--!"

"Pinkie Pie, please..." Scootaloo interrupted, not wanting to hear Pinkie ramble. "I'm not in the mood to play right now. I just need someone to talk to..."

"Okie dokie, then. So watcha wanna talk about? We could talk about our days, our favorite flavors of ice cream, or..." she trailed off, immediately following with a huge, theatrical smiling gasp. "We could talk about things we could do to cheer you up! Doesn't that sound fun??" Scootaloo sighed in annoyance at Pinkie missing the hint.

"Pinkie, I said no...!" Scootaloo reiterated, growing impatient with the bubbly pink mare's persistence. What little progress that had been made by Scorpion's perceived 'joke' had effectively been undone.

"Well how are we supposed to cheer you up if you don't let us, you silly filly? C'mon, don't be such a Grumpy McMopeyPants!" she remarked, hugging the pegasus without her consent. The mare's remark only served to further irritate the filly, whose facial expression went from sadness to contempt at the belligerent pink pony's efforts. Scorpion, noticing this, finally spoke up.

"Enough of your babbling, Pinkie. You are jeopardizing the mission," Scorpion admonished to Pinkie's surprise. "You will release her this instant."

"Okie dokie lokie!" she obeyed, letting the filly go. Scootaloo took the opportunity to dust herself off as she turned to walk away in annoyance.

"What is it that plagues you, young one?" the wraith asked, stopping her in her tracks. Scorpion seemed to genuinely want to help the filly out despite Pinkie Pie exacerbating her bad mood. It was one thing for him to be doing it to complete his mission, but a curiosity crept over him, seeing as this was the first pony he'd encountered that didn't immediately address him with impudence.

"Why would YOU wanna help me?" the filly skeptically asked. Scorpion had the common sense not to answer her question with anything that might refer to his contractual obligation to help her.

"As I previously stated, I am here to offer you my assistance. It is... most unsatisfactory to see you upset," he half-lied.

"But you don't even know me. Why would you care?"

"...Your plight interests me, to say the least..." he reasoned, trying to get to the point as he approached her. "Explain to me what bothers you."

"Aww, Scorpie! You've grown up so much already!" Pinkie exclaimed, proud to see Scorpion actually trying to cheer Scootaloo up. She jumped to hug him again, only for the specter to catch her by her midsection with one hand. He'd been prepared this time.

"You continue to test my patience, pink horse woman, and I have had enough of your foolish games. You are becoming a liability," he said, thoroughly fed up with Pinkie's antics, though still aware that he could do nothing to physically harm her. In addition, he'd observed that Pinkie was having the same perturbing effect on Scootaloo, which endangered his mission. He was NOT going to lose his powers over Pinkie Pie's oblivious incompetence. He'd come too far for that.

"Don't be silly, Scorpie!" Pinkie shot back in cheerful disbelief. She did nothing to fight his firm grasp, despite his fingers digging into her coat, which demonstrated that he was practically squeezing her out of anger. "We're in this together. I'm supposed to help you."

"I do not require your assistance. You are no longer of use to me. I demand that you leave me with the little one so that I may complete my mission in peace." With that, he callously released her from his grip to let her to fall flat on her flanks, a bit hurt by his blunt demand.

"Oh... Well are you sure? I mean, I could help you in talking to Scootaloo or maybe we could do something fun together like--!"

"Leave. Now...!" the agitated ninja enunciated in a contemptuous growl. Pinkie was mortified by Scorpion's callousness as she froze in shock, her jaw opening ever so slightly as her eyes began to water.

"Pinkie..." Scootaloo beckoned, seeming unsure herself of how to speak her mind. "I think he means it."

"Oh... Well alright, Scorpie!" she said, seeming to cheer up almost instantly, despite the prevalent hint of dejection in her tone. The tears welling up in her eyes told a different story altogether. "I'll just uh... go and check around the town to see if my hidden ball collection is still intact or something... Have fun!" With a wan smile and a wave, she simply turned and walked away without another word or so much as a glance over her shoulder... an unusual feat for the normally-hyperactive pink pony as she'd almost always been bouncing like her legs were made of springs. Scorpion, being none too ignorant of her change in behavior, mentally noted this before focusing his full attention on Scootaloo.

"...You think she'll be okay?" asked the dark orange filly in concern.

"She is fine," the specter shallowly dismissed, avoiding deviation from his goal. "As I previously asked, what brings you grief?"

"Oh, well um..." Scootaloo withdrew a bit, unsure of where to begin telling a total stranger (a non-pony stranger at that) her woes. "I-it had to do with... other ponies... and stuff..." Scorpion was intent on coaxing the problem out of her, so he proceeded to sit down next to her.

"Has someone murdered your family and clan?" he guessed.

"WHAT?? No, nothing THAT bad..." she denied in astonishment at his arbitrary estimate. "It's just... well, these two bullies at school keep calling me a 'blank flank' and making fun of me for not being able to fly." The specter nodded in understanding.

"So it is a matter of conquering your enemy in Mortal Kombat?" Scorpion guessed again, widely missing the mark once more. This time, the filly giggled at Scorpion's cluelessness.

"Y'know, something tells me you're not very good at the whole 'making ponies feel better' deal..." she mused, unknowingly to the ninja's chagrin. Although, if there was one piece of information Scorpion took with him beyond the boundary of death, it's that children tend to speak without thinking. His own son used to have a habit of doing just that. The fond memory of his only child brought the ninja an odd sense of mirth.

"I... suppose it has been too long since I have last interacted with the young..." he uneasily quipped.

"Heh, I'll say... Who are you, anyway? WHAT are you? Where are you from? Why would Pinkie Pie bring you of all ponies here to cheer me up?" Scootaloo's curiosity got the better of her.

"I am Scorpion. I am a demon from a place known as the Netherrealm. I am trapped here and am assigned to fulfill a series of tasks so that I may return to my own plane of existence. The pink one was merely an escort of sorts." Scootaloo's jaw dropped in total awe at the fact that she was interacting with someone from a whole different world.

"Whoa... So you're not even from Equestria???"

"I am not."

"Wow... That's so cool!"

"...'Cool'?"

"Yeah! Of all the things that find their way into Equestria, something like you has never been here before! Can you do anything awesome? Like, do you have any special powers or something?" Scorpion was aware that her curiosity was missing the point of the task, but her interest in him persuaded him to amuse her.

"Yes. In fact..." Scorpion stood and showed Scootaloo some of the basic powers he possessed. Lighting his hand in flame, opening a small portal to the Netherrealm (he was unable to access one big enough to jump into himself. Raiden accounted for that) and pulling out a small piece of brimstone, and even demonstrating some of his signature moves like his ability to teleport and summon fire from the ground. Scootaloo was astounded.

"Whoa... You're the most awesome thing I've ever seen in my life! Well... Next to Rainbow Dash, but other than that, you're totally rad!" Scorpion nodded at her approval of his abilities, reveling in her adulation of him.

"I appreciate your admiration."

"No problem... Makes me wish I could do HALF that stuff to show those snotty rich kids not to mess with me..." Scootaloo's complaint gave Scorpion a much-needed clue.

"Ah, so it is revenge you seek?"

"I... don't think so..." she uneasily answered. "I was always told that revenge isn't a good thing because it doesn't make anypony happy; it only makes everypony sad or angry. That and doing to them what they do to me only makes me as bad as them..." Her words hit the ninja. He prided himself on vengeance, as it was the whole reason he was resurrected. Though, he remembered the day he fought his killer to the death and exacted his rightful vengeance upon him... but Scorpion didn't remember being happy with his results... even as he stood in front of a crowd of other fighters, holding the brittle, charred remains of Sub-Zero's skull in his hand, he felt... strangely remorseful for taking the ice ninja's life in retaliation for his own murder at the cryomancer's hands. Her words held merit. Vengeance wouldn't be the right path to take... especially not for one so young.

"I see..."

"...Buuuut, I'd still like to see them scared out of their poofy, overdone manes for a change." Scootaloo grinned mischievously at her thought. "Maybe you can... I dunno, talk to them and tell them to stop bothering me or something? And if they don't listen, you can use your powers on them?"

"I am afraid I cannot bring harm to your kind for the duration of my stay here. If it were a possibility, the pink one would have been nothing more than a pile of ashes the moment I entered this realm."

"You don't have to actually HURT them; just give 'em a good scare." Scorpion wondered if this was the best idea to go about cheering Scootaloo up. He was supposed to learn how to understand the filly, but he hardly believed that scaring her bullies off for her would teach him or even her at all.

"Perhaps... Or I could demonstrate to you the art of Kombat so that you can stave off your aggressors yourself."

"No way, man! You'd probably roast me like a batch of hay fries!" she rebuked out of fear. "Plus, I'm not too crazy about beating ponies up to stop them from bothering me. I'd get in a lot of trouble..." With that, Scorpion was stumped. None of the methods he deemed suitable were good enough to help Scootaloo. How could one turn down the golden opportunity to rigorously train under the tutelage of a vindictive, short-tempered, undead Shirai Ryu assassin who was also a raging pyromaniac?

"Hmm..." Scorpion began to ponder, but no ideas were coming up.

"...All I need is somepony to talk to that understands me..." she mumbled in dejection as she sat down and sighed after a moment of silence. Scorpion took this confession of hers as another clue. If all else failed, talking would surely do the trick and get him that much closer to escaping punishment. Though, it'd be an added bonus to see this young orange pegasus in higher spirits.

"If you are willing to talk, then I will listen," he extended his courtesy to her; something he'd NEVER thought he'd do. However, with no other options, he decided to go this route.

"Th-thank you, Mr. Scorpion."

"Yes. Where shall you begin your tale?"

"Hmm... Well... I guess I'll start by explaining what happened the other day... So me and my friends were out playing and having a good time trying to discover our talents like we always do. Just minding our own business and not doing anything to harm anypony, y'know? Then these two spoiled-rotten fillies named Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon showed up. They went about their usual thing by harassing us, making fun of us, and calling us 'blank flanks,' which got really old really fast. I was already in a bad mood that day, so I shouted at them to leave us alone. All they kept doing was egging me on, telling me what a worthless excuse for a pegasus I was for not being able to fly, and really cranking the cruelty dial to 11. I lost my temper and tried to hit one of them, but they pushed me into a puddle of mud and laughed at me, telling me that I was a good-for-nothing mule with chicken wings... That really hurt..." she confessed, her eyes wellng up with tears again.

"Hmm..." Scorpion merely nodded as he sat beside her, listening to her every word.

"I... *sniffle* I just don't understand why they treat me like that... it really hurts... It's worse that they pick on me for my wings... Is it too much to ask to be able to fly like Rainbow Dash?"

"Who?"

"Oh right... You're not from here... Long story short, Rainbow Dash is my big sister and the fastest pony in Equestria. She can fly at supersonic speeds and do amazing tricks, and simply put, she's just plain awesome... I wish I could be anything NEAR as great as she is... I try my hardest almost every day to even lift myself off the ground with my wings, but it just... never works. Watch..." she stood up and demonstrated her flying skills by rapidly flapping her miniscule feathered appendages. Scootaloo lifted a meager few inches off the ground before landing, seeming short of breath. "See?"

"...Hm..." Scorpion nodded, intrigued by what he'd observed.

"My only alternative is my scooter, which lets me feel just like I WAS flying... only, low to the ground. It's the closest thing I can get to flying because I can move really fast on it and do some neat tricks just like Rainbow Dash..."

"I see... I can identify with your dilemma," the ninja politely informed the filly.

"So you know what it's like to be harassed by other ponies for not being able to do something you know you'd love and being powerless to stop them?"

"Not quite. If I were in your place, I would have viciously decapitated all those who dared to ridicule me, then scorched their bleeding, decaying skulls after impaling them on pikes for the rest of the pitiful residents of this land to carefully observe before feeding them to..." he trailed off as he realized he was beginning to frighten Scootaloo again with the vivid, excruciating detail of the hell-bent wrath he'd wreak as a reaction to simple taunting and name-calling. "I... I mean you uh... remind me very much of my son..."

"Your son? What's he like? How come you didn't bring him along?"

"He was an excellent young boy... intelligent, enthusiastic, and very outgoing... he was my only child... he was the light in my life when I was human..." Scootaloo didn't know what a human even was, but she disregarded it in the wake of Scorpion's use of past-tense when describing his son.

"Was? What happened to him...?"

"...He was murdered..." Scorpion's confession made the orange filly gasp in total astonishment.

"Oh... wow, I'm... I'm sorry..."

"It is... it is fine, young one. You need not worry about me."

"I-if you say so... How do I remind you of him, anyway?"

"In life, he was an energetic child who always aspired to be just like his father; a master assassin... Though, because he was young, he hardly had the discipline necessary to follow the path of the Shirai Ryu. His indomitable enthusiasm landed him in many compromising situations with his peers. They would jeer him, physically assault him, and torment him until either I stepped in to stop it or he went home to his mother when I was not present. Despite those who discouraged him, however, he would train in private, challenge fellow clan members to sparring sessions, and on occasion, observe me as I honed my skills. What he lacked in skill, he made up for in determination and spirit."

"Wooooow..."

"Yes, he was an admirable boy... I can tell you share these traits with him. I believe that, with some discipline, you will eventually reach your goal."

"You think so??"

"I do. Had my son been alive to this day, there would be no telling how strong he might have become. Your road may be long in your situation, but it will never be traveled if you do not take the steps necessary to complete your journey."

"Wow... Thank you, Mr. Scorpion!"

"Your gratitude is appreciated," he acknowledged as he gently laid a hand on Scootaloo's head. "As for those who dare to hinder your growth... My best word of advice to you is to train hard so as to astound them with your skills if you are not to directly challenge them to a fight to the death. Their actions and words of discouragement will only harm you if you allow them to."

"I... I will. But no matter how hard I try, I just can't fly... I get so frustrated because it feels like I haven't gotten anywhere close to it after so many tries..."

"Some skills take time above all else to master. As I have learned, patience is a virtue..." he advised, making note of his own lesson he learned from Applejack. "There is no accurate prediction I could make in regard to you gaining the ability to fly. Though, you must not surrender to hardship, nor should you try to rush your development. Merely train, and your skills will grow as you do."

"You're right... Thank you."

"Yes. How do you feel now?"

"A lot better, thanks to you," she said, smiling as she finally perked up. "I should get going now. It's getting late and I'm sure my parents are worried about me. Thanks again, Mr. Scorpion, and I hope you can find Pinkie and cheer her up, too," she said as she hugged the specter, which surprisingly garnered no hostility from him. He instead laid an arm over her as, for an instant, he saw an image of his son in Scootaloo's place... how he missed such a warm, disarming sensation...

"...So THIS is what compassion feels like... how long it has been since I lost familiarity with it..." he mumbled in contemplation. Before long, Scootaloo and Scorpion separated.

"Bye!" Scootaloo bid farewell as she dashed away, waving at the ninja as she disappeared into the distance in much brighter spirits and with a bolstered sense of determination to improve herself. Once he was alone however, Scorpion thought back to when he told Pinkie Pie to leave him alone... the harshness of his words... the drastic change in her behavior as she trotted away in evident sadness... and even before that, all the violent threats he made to her... all the unwarranted animosity he'd built toward her for simply wanting him to be happy... Another known, yet unfamiliar emotion welled up in the fiery wraith's heart thanks to his re-acquaintance with the awareness of the feelings of others... guilt.

"...I must find her..." He muttered as he teleported away to search for his estranged comrade...

Author's Notes:

Hanzo Hasashi's "Scorpion's" To-Do List:

1. Assist Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres to Understand Patience

2. Help Rarity Find Jewels to Learn Humility

3. Cheer up Scootaloo to Comprehend Consideration & Compassion

4. Spend Quality Time with Pinkie Pie to Gain Respect

Three Down, One to Go!