The Newcomer

So that’s it then? You’re finished? Done? I must say, I’m very disappointed. I expected much more from you, Scourge.

Scourge’s eyes opened quickly, as he sucked in a breath.

“I’m alive?!” He thought to himself, “That’s impossible! I should be-“

“Dead?” A deep, distorted, and disembodied voice asked before chuckling darkly, “You are.”

“Then, how am I breathing?” He asked as he got to his hooves, “And how can you read my thoughts?”

“Because,” The voice started “I am you. Look around, does this place look familiar to you?”

Scourge surveyed his surroundings. He was in the same clearing as before, with a couple of key differences. For one, all the trees were missing their leaves. Also, there was no sign of the sun or moon, making it hard to see clearly. As if that wasn’t enough, a thick fog blanketed the entire clearing evenly.

“Yes.”  Scourge answered plainly.

“You died here.” The voice told him, “You failed here.”

“Well, I’m dead,” Scourge shot back. “so I don’t see why all this matters.”

“You’re here because my patience is wearing thin,” The voice told him “and because I’m not finished with you.”

“Who’re You?” Scourge asked, “My boss? Because, I don’t see why you think you have auth-“

“Why do I have authority over you?!” The voice asked, clearly angered. “That is not for you to know. Our deal is, that you do as I say and you’ll get what we agreed on!”

“And what is it you wanted me to do?” Scourge asked.

“Kill what has been attacking you. It’s as simple as that.” The voice answered. “I’m going to send you back so that you can finish what you started.”

The voice’s volume increased, “If you fail me again, you have my word that I will make you scream for something as sweet as pain.”

Thunder crackled over Scourge’s head and lightning flashed. Suddenly, a bolt hit Scourge, vaporizing him.

“Do you think he’s alright?” Rarity asked.

“I don’t know, but I hope so.” Twilight Sparkle answered.

“We should’ve gone with him.” Rainbow Dash said.

“He didn’t sound like he wanted us to.” Fluttershy added.

All six mares sat around a game board, still at Twilight’s house. The mood was not at all cheery since Scourge had left. All of them were worried about him, even though they were positive he wasn’t going to come back, even if he survived.

“Just out’a curiosity,” Applejack started, “What did he say when he meant ‘Bucked with my feelings’?

The cyan Pegasus hung her head in shame. “Me and Pinkie, we played a prank on him. We made him think-“

Pinkie Pie interrupted her friend. “It was my idea!” Tears were forming in her eyes, “We made him- we made him think he had slept with me.”

“What?!” Twilight gasped, “Pinkie, we said no more pranks for this exact reason. We knew you and Dash would take it too far!”

“We didn’t mean to hurt him.” Pinkie whimpered, “I don’t know, when I was around him, it just seemed like a really good idea. It was almost like something bad was affecting my judgment. I’m sorry.”

Pinkie Pie’s mane and tail were not as fluffy as they usually were, her eyes misty.

Scourge slowly opened his eyes this time, as if awakening from a deep sleep. The first thing he saw was ice, and that the ice was moving.

The Ice Elemental was desperately trying to pull off his crest with its remaining hoof, not yet noticing Scourge’s resurrection.

“That’s mine.” Scourge growled as he grabbed the monster’s hoof.

The creature tried to pull away, but it had weakened, and Scourge was once-again at full strength. This was going to be a very one-sided fight.

Scourge began with a punch to the face that sent his opponent sprawling. When it attempted to rise, he hit it again, and again, and again, until his enemy was little more than chips of ice.

“Right then.” Scourge said as he gave his hoof a shake. “Who’s next?”

He looked around but the clearing was empty. His opponents had vanished, leaving only their jewels behind.

Then, the black diamonds on his crest began to shake, and one by one they fell off and clattered to the ground, until only the largest center one remained.

“Wait a tick...” Scourge said, quite confused.

But the process continued despite his confusion. The jewels of the fallen enemies slowly levitated into the air, before flying at him and attaching to his crest.

That’s when the pain started. He felt raw power ripping through his very being and he screamed. The pain continued growing, more and more intense, until his mind realized that the only possible escape would be to shut down.

And so it did…

“Huh?” Scourge started. He hadn’t woken up this time. He had simply, been there. But where was “There”? That was the question.

He looked, but all he saw was white. There was no up, no down, no right and no left. It was nothing but an endless space.

Then he heard clapping. That was good, it mean somepony else was here too.

“Hello?” He called, “Is anyone there?”

“Just you and I.” A familiar voice said.

“Oh!” Scourge exclaimed. “You brought me here.”

“That I did.” The voice said as a figure began to fade into existence.

Scourge was more than a bit surprised. Most of the figure was covered in a pitch-black cloak that actually seemed to be constantly moving. Said cloak covered the right side of the figure’s face as well as its right hoof. It appeared to be a pony, from what Scourge could see, although it must have been the size of Princess Celestia, if not bigger. Its coat was a slightly lighter black than his cloak. Its face was horribly twisted; the eye that he could see was just as black as his cloak. But, that was the thing: the eye was all black. There was no sign of a pupil or iris of any sort. Its teeth were all sharp, every one like a razor, and as white as if it went to a dentist daily. Light actually seemed to reflect off them.

“You’ve done well.” The figure smiled, revealing even more of its hideous maw.

“You didn’t say anything about pure energy ripping me apart, or the jewels falling off my crest when you gave me this job!” Scourge spat.

“Didn’t I?” The figure asked, the smile ever-present. “I’m terribly sorry, I must’ve forgotten.”

Scourge’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I’ve finished my job, do I get my reward?”

“Ah yes, your reward.” The figure replied. It nodded it’s head and a cage made of ebony bars immediately appeared around Scourge.

“What?!” Scourge cried as he grabbed hold of the bars. “You liar! You worthless piece of-“

“I kept my promise.” The creature said calmly as it approached the bars. “Do you not feel stronger?”

Scourge thought about that for a second before replying. “Yes.”

“Well, you can be as powerful as you want,” It said. “In there.”

And with that, it turned and began to walk away.

“No!” Scourge roared. “You worthless waste of pony anatomy! When I get out of here I’m going to break you in half!”

The creature suddenly reappeared, it's eyes narrow. “My name is True Scourge.”

True Scourge awoke in the clearing this time. Still bearing his hideous smile he quickly got to his hooves, dusted himself off, and started walking towards Ponyville.

There was work to be done. It was time to take back what was his.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

That's right, I'm back. I'm going to try to release chapters sooner from now on and I'm sorry for the recent delays. To anyone who ever thought this story was dead, I assure you that I will tell you if it's dead. I will formally cancel it.

Now, I'd like to thank my fantastic editor, Firebirdbtops (spelled it right this time!).

P.S. If anyone was wondering, this fic takes place after season 2 ended, but before season 3 began.