Scourge snorted. What was that smell? He felt hot. Too hot. His eyes shot open and he immediately squinted. There was smoke. Lots of smoke.

Scourge then realized that there was a very good chance that Carousel Boutique was on fire.

"FIRE!" He yelled as he ran to the kitchen, where he presumed the fire had started. He could fight a fire, or he could die trying.

------------

Sweetie bell was getting frustrated. She had burned everything that she had tried to cook for Rarity. Plus, this was the second time this month that she had been dumped here by her parents.

"We're going to Manehattan." They had said. So, for the next ten days, she was going to be forced to stay with her older sister. Sweetie had learned a little bit more about cooking from her mother since the last time she had been here. but unfortunately, the dishes she prepared had only gone from charred black to burned.

She opened the oven to take out the waffles. As she did so, a huge cloud of smoke erupted from the oven.

Suddenly she remembered that you weren't supposed to cook waffles in the oven.

"Oh well." She said as she put the burnt breakfast on the table.

She was about to call for Rarity when a menacing stallion burst through the smoke.

"BURGLAR!" She managed to scream before he covered her mouth with a hoof.

"Shhhh..." He whispered.

"MMMPH!"

"I'm not a burglar." He whispered.

Sweetie raised an eyebrow quizzically as Scourge slowly brought his hoof down from her mouth.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yes." He said before he glanced around the room. "So, no fire?"

"No fire." She replied.

Scourge let out a huge sigh of relief as he set her down.

"Why'd you cover my mouth?" She asked.

"I didn't want you to wake Rarity." He replied.

"Oh don't worry. It takes a lot to wake her." She said.

"I, of all ponies, should have known that." He thought as a bundle of extremely inappropriate memories filled his skull, accompanied by a sly grin.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Sit down. I'll tell you all about myself."

"Okay!" She said happily as she sat down.

Scourge fallowed her as he eyed the burnt food that covered the table with suspicion, not disgust. Because that would be rude.

---------------

"No, Blueblood. I don't want to go back to the gala tonight." Rarity mumbled as she rolled over in her sleep.

"Darling please!" She moaned into her pillow.

Suddenly she bolted upright in her bed.

"I really need to stop drinking before I go to bed." She murmured as she dragged herself to the bathroom. The creature that starred back at her from behind the mirror had a messy mane and very bloodshot eyes.

"Oh sure Rainbow, just one more." She groaned as she washed her face and trudged down the stairs.

She stopped and sniffed the air. Burned food. She knew that meant Sweetie Belle would be staying with her.Her parents had begun dropping Sweetie her a lot more often lately. So often, in fact, that she was here once or twice a month.

"Once or twice too often." She muttered as she opened the door to the kitchen.

What she saw next seriously surprised her. Scourge was sitting at the table chumming it up with Sweetie Belle. The two of them were talking and laughing just like old friends.

"Oh hey Raaaaaaarity!" He stretched out her name, causing Sweetie to giggle.

"Good morning Scourge." She replied coldly as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Sweetie made breakfast!" Scourge exclaimed as he crunched a burnt waffle.

"Yes, I could smell it." She said as she sat down next to her sister.

"Holy bed-head." Sweetie whispered to Scourge.

Scourge snickered before asking "So Rarity, you drank a little much? Hmmmm?"

"Yes. Yes I did." She groaned.

Then the trio ate in silence for almost two minutes, Sweetie and Scourge both realizing that Rarity was not in the mood for teasing.

As usual in such situations, Scourge broke the silence.

"So Rarity, are you seeing anyone?" Scourge asked suddenly. It was not a friendly question as his eyes were slitted as he asked.

This question obviously caught Rarity hugely off guard. "Oh, I- I'm- er-" She stuttered.

Scourge let out a quiet chuckle. "Aaaaaaand another one bites the dust." His mind sang.

"YES! Yes I am." Rarity suddenly exclaimed.

"Really?" Scourge asked, his eyes wide.

"His name is- uh- Spike! Yes I am currently seeing Spike!" She said, a bit too quickly.

"REALLY?! You're dating Spike now?!" Sweetie asked, clearly astounded.

"Yes." She replied through clenched teeth.

"Spike the d-" Before she could finish her question Rarity stuffed a hoof in her mouth.

Scourge eyed the pair suspiciously before asking, "Does Ponyville have a gym?"

"Er.. No." Rarity replied. "But you could try Rainbow Dash. I'm sure she'd be happy to train with you."

Scourge pondered this for a few seconds before replying. "Yeah sure. She seems pretty cool."

"Also, you could ask Pinkie if you can borrow her balloon, and you should probably ask Twilight to perform a cloud walking spell." Rarity said, she was talking quickly. It was obvious that she was eager to get rid of Scourge.

"Alright." He replied as he ate the last of his burnt breakfast before he headed out the door.

------------

Scourge trotted slowly through Ponyville's market, a place he hadn't visited in a while. As he walked he hummed quietly to himself.

(Note- the song is The greatest show unearthed, by Creature Feature.)

"Fillies and gentlecolts, mares and stallions... step right up!"

He passed the same green unicorn from the day before, this time sitting with another mare.

"Behind this curtain lies a ghastly concoction of delight, horror, fantasy, and terror!"

Applejack was currently at her apple stand, arguing with another pony who was operating a stand that appeared to be selling carrots.

"Ah told y'all, that there land beside the Everfree is Apple family property!" Applejack snarled.

"I don't think so! We carrots clearly own that section." She replied, her nose high in the air.

"Why you dirty, lyin, no good..." She started, but Scourge was already too far away to hear the rest.

"Your every wish is our command, you every whimsical desire brought to life... but I'm warning you, there's always a price."

He continued walking, not noticing the towering mound of groceries headed towards him.

"Welcome to the greatest show-"

He was interrupted as he crashed into the huge mound of groceries that had been headed toward him. Vegetables of all kinds rained from the sky as Scourge lay on the ground, dazed.

As soon as Scourge regained his seances, he decided to see if anypony was hurt, although it was very unlikely.

"Are you alright?" Scourge called into a particularly large pile of groceries.

Suddenly a familiar yellow pegasus erupted from the mound. Fluttershy climbed out of the mess and began to look at her groceries with disappointment.

She sighed before saying. "Hmmph. That was a day's worth of shopping."

"I'm really sorry Fluttershy!" Scourge exclaimed apologetically.

"Scourge?!" She asked, a blush forming rapidly in her cheeks.

"Uh, yeah. Scourge, that's my name." He replied, not quite grasping the situation for some reason.

"It's really good to see you." She cooed, although she may not have meant to.

"Yeah, it's great to see you too." He said. "But I did spill all of your groceries, I'd be happy to pay for them. I'd even offer to shop with you if I didn't have so much to do."

"Oh, well, um, that's too bad." The yellow pegasus replied as she deflated. (Not Pinkie Pie deflated.)

He handed Fluttershy two hundred bit notes before saying, "I hope this covers it. I'd better get going." Then he galloped off.

Fluttershy stared at the two notes in her hand before releasing a squee. Her day's shopping had only cost less then a hundred bits!

------------

"Idiot. You're a puppet to your emotions like everyone else."

"This love stashing spell should last long enough for you to compete the task at hand."

-----------

Scourge stopped outside Sugarcube Corner.

"Well, this is it." He thought to himself "It's time to see if my hypothesis was correct. Sweet Celestia, please let her have forgotten."

He opened the door to find a slightly older light blue mare with a swirly pink mane running the cash register. He took in his surroundings. Sugar, and lots of it. It was no wonder Pinkie was so hyper, with all this, the pink mare was probably in a constant state of sugar rush.

"Hi there." He said as he flashed her his best smile.

"Hi dear, what can I get for ya?" She asked.

"I'm here to see Pinkie Pie actually." She said. "She works here right?"

"Oh yes, she does." The blue pony answered. "She's upstairs foalsitting the twins."

"Thanks." Scourge said as he began to climb the stairs but soon returned to the counter.

"Can I get one of those green cupcakes with the little apple slice on top?"

------------

Scourge climbed the stairs slowly, savoring the cupcake. He slowly pushed open the door he presumed to be the foal's room to find exactly what he had expected, save one key difference. Pinkie was writing in a pink diary while the foals were playing.

"Pinkie?" Scourge called.

Upon hearing this, Pinkie slammed the book and hid it behind her back.

"Hi Scourge, what are you doing here?" She asked as if nothing had happened.

"I was wondering if I could borrow your diar- Er- balloon." She asked.

"Sure. Just let me make sure it's all working fine. What do you need it for? Where are you going? Are you going to see Dashie? Soarin? Well you must have to know one of the Wonderbolts to know Soarin..." She continued spouting the usual plethora of words even as she quickly put the book back on the shelf and trotted off.

As soon as Scourge was sure Pinkie was gone he let out a colossal sigh. "That went much better then expected." He muttered.

The two foals looked towards the door.

"Pinkie?" One started.

"Pie?" The other finished.

"Uh, she'll be right back." He said.

Tears began to brim in both the foal's eyes as they stared at him. Suddenly they both burst into tears.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHAHAAA" They both screamed.

"Shit." Scourge muttered.

"Shhhh. no, please don't cry. Shhhh." She did his best to comfort them.

-------------

"AUGH!"

"BE SILENT!"

-------------

Scourge's eye's flashed black quickly before he made a slashing motion with his hoof an inch from the foal's faces. This silenced the two foals for a second, then they opened their mouths to resume their relentless assault on Scourge's eardrums, but no sound came from their. They tried again and again, tears streamed down their faces, but not a single sound was heard.

"Foals should be seen, not heard." Scourge growled. "And even seen is debatable."

He moved to Pinkie's bookshelf and easily located her diary.

"Heheh." He chuckled darkly. "let's see just what's going on inside your head Pinkie."

------------

Big Macintosh had skipped the day's chores, a rare occurrence at the very least. He walked quickly through Ponyville, obviously with a clear destination in mind.

Upon arriving at Carousel Boutique he politely knocked on the door before letting himself in.

"Scourge?" Rarity called from behind a rack of dresses.

"It's me, Mac." He called.

"Oh Big Macintosh! What brings you here today?" Rarity asked.

"Scourge." Mac replied simply.

Rarity's face immediately dropped. "What about him?" She asked.

"I think he's got the hots fer Applejack." He replied.

"No way." She replied. Normally, such gossip would have the mare almost jumping with joy, but under the circumstances it barely effected her mood.

"I need ta know if ah can trust 'em." Mac said.

"Trust? Scourge? Those two words don't even belong in the same sentence." She replied.

"So he hasn't changed?" Mac asked, expectantly.

"Not really." She replied. "I mean he has changed a little, but he's still the same stallion."

"Thanks, that's all ah needed to know." Mac replied as he turned to leave.

As he closed the door behind him, Rarity thought about what she had done. She had just ruined any chance Scourge had with Applejack.

"It's for the best." She told herself.

-----------

"Holy shit." Scourge exclaimed as he put the book back on the shelf and fell onto his haunches.

The foals had resumed crying normally, but he had barely taken notice.

"What the BUCK?!" His mind asked in a frenzy. "That's what Pinkie writes in her diary? Does anypony else know?" He was pelted with more questions, but had next to no answers.

Pinkie bounced into the room suddenly, with no explanation as usual.

"AUGH!" Scourge cried and he jumped back like a startled cat.

"Scourge? You ok? Why did you scream?" She asked.

"You just caught me off guard, that's all." He replied quickly.

"Okey dokey lokey!" She exclaimed. "The balloon's fine and you can use it whenever you want."

"Thanks." Scourge said. "You're a great friend Pinkie."

"I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm friends with everypony! But thanks anyway." She said.

"I'm gonna go see Twilight. See you later." He said as he walked out the door and into the streets of Ponyville once again.

-----------

Mac walked through the door of his house to find what he had been looking for, his sister Applejack.

"Hey Mac, where'd ya go?" She asked.

"Not important." He replied. "Ah need to talk to ya about Scourge."

"Scourge? What about 'em?"

"Are you gonna, well, ah- go for 'em? He asked awkwardly.

"Mac!" She exclaimed. "I've already to ya to stay out of mah personal business. I don't wanna have to tell ya again!"

"He's a bad stallion." Mac said.

"Bad how?" She asked, glaring at him.

"He does bad things. He uses mares. Uses 'em." Mac said.

"I don't believe-" She started

"AJ." He interrupted. "He hurts ponies fer a livin'."

At this, Applejack's eyes grew wide. This was not a fact she had taken into consideration.

"How do I know y'all aint lyin?" She asked.

"Look." She started. "I've know him fer a real long time and I've seen 'em do some things that were pretty awful. I'm telling ya, the stallion's bad news."

"Well then, I guess I'll have to thank ya Mac. Y'all mighta just saved me." She said with a smile as she pulled her brother in for a hug.

"I'm just watchin' out fer ya." He replied as he lightly ruffled his sister's hair. "Now let's go, them apples ain't gonna buck themselves."

-------------

"Closed?!" Scourge asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "But it's one in the afternoon!" The library that housed Twilight Sparkle looked just as it always had. However, much to Scourge's dismay, it was locked and a CLOSED sign hung from the door handle.

Scourge knocked as politely as he could and waited for a response. None came. He tried again, louder this time.

"Sorry, the library's closed, come back another time please." A young male voice called from inside the library.

"I'm not here for books," Scourge said. "I need to see Twilight."

"She's not seeing anyone right now." The voice replied simply.

"This is important. Please open the door." Scourge said, his patience beginning to wane.

"Sorry." The voice called.

"Listen buddy I NEED to see Twilight Sparkle now. I'm not taking no for an answer." He warned.

"Please go away." It called.

"Open this door." Scourge said.

Silence.

"Okay. This is your last chance. Let me in, or I will let myself in." Scourge threatened.

Silence.

Scourge growled, his eyes flashed black for a split second as he wound up with his right fore-hoof. He threw a punch as hard as he could, shattering the wood to splinters. Scourge withdrew his hoof, the hole he had make had a circumference only slightly larger than his hoof.

He forced his face through the door's new peephole and looked around. He spotted a purple and green dragon on his back, desperately scrambling backwards.

"Let me in!" Scourge commanded as he withdrew his head. The dragon stood up but didn't move.

"Don't make me partake in any more remodeling!" Scourge threatened.

The dragon nearly vaulted to the door and unlocked it. Scourge walked through and dusted himself off as if nothing had happened.

"I am -er -I -uh" The dragon stuttered, he was literally shaking.

"Scourge placed a comforting hoof on the dragon's shoulder.

The dragon looked up at him with eyes that showed pure terror.

"P-please don't kill me." He whimpered.

"Please don't make me." Scourge replied simply. "Now, enough of that. First of all, nice place." He gestured around the library stupidly. "Second, where's Twilight? And no not that Luna-aweful book series."

"She's- She's in her room, the door's locked. She won't let anypony in." He stuttered.

Scourge took a step towards the young dragon, prompting him to whimper and take a step back.

"You really are terrified of me, aren't you?" Scourge asked with a grin.

"I- I-" He started.

"Relax kid, I'm not gonna hurt you." Scourge said.

"But you-" He started, but was once again interrupted.

"Yeah, the door. Sorry about that." Scourge said, rubbing the back of his neck.

He held out a hoof. The dragon eyed it suspiciously before grasping it and giving a weak shake.

"Alright." Scourge said as he began to climb the stairs to Twilight's room.

The dragon suddenly spoke up. "One question."

Scourge turned around to face him. "What?"

"Why didn't you just pick the lock with magic or teleport inside?" He asked.

Scourge gave the dragon and approving smile before asking him a question in return. "Now where's the fun in that?" Then he proceeded to climb the stairs.

Upon his arrival at Twilight's bedroom, he simply knocked.

Silence.

"Alright Scourge, this must be handled delicately, there's no telling why she won't let anypony in." He told himself.

"Twilight?" He called softly.

He listened intently for a few seconds but heard nothing.

"Twilight? Are you alright?" She called, a little louder this time.

He listened once again, for a few seconds he heard nothing. Then he heard a small, quiet sound.

"Sobbing?" His mind asked.

"Is something wrong?" He asked.

Sobbing, still barely audible.

"Alright, I need to get in there." He told himself.

Scourge's horn glowed for a second, then he teleported. But it felt different this time. Usually, he simply felt weightless for a millisecond, then he was where he wanted to be. This time though, the world went black as he felt a sharp tug on his entire being, then he was where he wanted to be. This method felt strange, but was strangely faster, and felt like it took less energy. Though. he had absolutely no Idea how he had managed it. He quickly decided that it wasn't that important.

He looked around Twilight's room, trying to find her. Her curtains were drawn and her room was a mess. Shelves toppled over and food and drinks littered the room, most of them barely touched. When his eyes reached Twilight's bed, there was a lump in her covers, roughly the size of the pony he was looking for.

He lightly prodded the lump with a hoof "Twi? You alright?"

This question triggered a blast of concussion magic to burst from the bed, throwing Scourge to the floor a couple of feet away.

Twilight Sparkle quickly rose from the comforter and stared at Scourge, who gave a dry cough.

Scourge looked up at the mare that had just tossed him across the room like a tin can. She was Twilight, but not the Twilight he was familiar with. Her mane was a total mess, her eyes were bloodshot, probably from crying because those eyes were still spouting tears.

Scourge coughed again before rising to his hooves. "Twilight what's wrong?" He asked.

"Did- Did I just..." She trailed off and resumed sobbing. She just stood there her head hung low, tears falling from her face to the floor.

Scourge rushed over and wrapped a comforting hoof around her. "What's wrong?" He asked again, softer this time.

"I don't- don't want to talk about it." She managed to mumble.

"That's fine." He said as he guided her over to the bed.

"You sure did a number on this room." Scourge commented as they both sat down on their haunches.

He returned his foreleg around her shouders as she simply stared off into space.

For some time, they just sat there, Scourge doing his best to comfort the purple mare.

After what felt like hours to Scourge, Twilight finally spoke. "I c-can't believe they're gone." She sobbed.

"Who's gone?" He asked without thinking. As soon as he got an answer, he immediately regretted asking.

"M- my- my p- p- parents." She managed to get out before once again collapsing into another fit of sobs.

Scourge immediately gritted his teeth and looked to the floor. Bad thoughts and memories filling his skull.

He turned the mare's face so that he could look her in the eye. "Twilight I- I know how you feel." He said solemnly.

"What?" She asked, her bloodshot eyes went wide at his statement.

"My parents died about three years back in an accident. It hurt me more than every blow I took in all my years." He said. "Which, actually isn't all that long of a legacy. I'm twenty-five." He cracked a sad smile at the last statement.

"Scourge I-" She started.

"Twilight, listen to me. The worst thing you can possibly do is lock yourself in your room and cry." He said forcefully."You've some of the nicest mares I've ever met as your friends and they'll help you through this rough spot. Trust me. I went through the same thing by myself, and I never told anypony. And now, I really wish I hadn't."

Scourge and Twilight simply stared at each other for a few seconds before Twilight pulled Scourge in for a strong hug, burying her muzzle in his shoulder.

"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you." She whimpered into his shoulder.

"It's fine. It was nothing, really." She said.

"I'm sorry, I think I'm going to go see Fluttershy." She said suddenly.

"Yeah, she seems to be your best option in this situation." He said. "Her or Rarity or Applejack."

She stood up to leave, but Scourge stopped her. "Twilight I know this is an awful time, but can you perform a spell for me?" he asked, not meeting her eye.

"Well, I- I guess so." She replied, a little surprised. "What spell?"

"A cloud walking spell. I'm hoping to go and see Rainbow Dash." Scourge said.

"Oh sure, that spell isn't very hard to perform." She said before adding. "I'm surprised you don't know it."

"I'm more specialized in combat magic, actually." He said as the purple unicorn's horn glowed for a few seconds before a red aura slowly rose from her horn and drifted to Scourge's hooves, then circled them for a little while.

"There." She said proudly. "That should do it."

"Thanks Twilight. Oh, and if you ever need anypony to talk to, I'm always there for you."

Scourge descended the steps with Twilight Sparkle at his side. Twilight walked through the door without stopping, but Scourge trotted into the kitchen to talk with Spike.

"Dragon? You there?" He called.

"Yes. And my name is Spike!" He said angrily as he walked over to the pony.

"Spike right. got I-" Scourge suddenly stopped talking as his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Are you okay." Spike asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"You're- You're-" He stirred before his cheeks grew red, he clamped his mouth shut, prompting his cheeks to fill with air. After about two seconds, he burst out laughing hysterically.

"Rarity- she's da-" But he couldn't even finish a sentence. He fell to the floor, laughing and rolling, tears beginning to form in his eyes.

By this time, spike was getting pretty frustrated. "Why are you laughing?" He asked, his claws curled into fists.

Scourge laughed for another ten whole seconds before standing up to face Spike.

He once again put a hoof on Spike's shoulder."Sorry Spike. I gotta go. But heh, thanks for the laugh." Then he trotted off, leaving behind a very confused purple and green dragon.

---------

Roughly an hour and a half later, Scourge slowly stepped out from Pinkie's balloon. It wasn't like he didn't trust Twilight's ability, it was just that he didn't want to take any chances in this kind of situation. He exhaled as his hoof slowly touched the cloud.

"Praise Celestia." He muttered as he walked towards Rainbow's front door. The place seemed to resemble a palace made of clouds, Pillars and rainbow colored waterfalls were everywhere.

"Kinda makes you wonder how somepony working on the weather team could afford something like this." Scourge said to himself admiring the palace in all it's beauty.

Upon arriving at Rainbow's front door he reached out a hoof to knock, but withdrew it before he made a sound.

"I really should stress the fact that I ended either one or two lives last night, and gave another stallion a concussion." Scourge brought a hoof to his chin as he pondered the questions he was asking himself.

He shook a purple hoof dismissively. "I've done much worse than that." He told himself.

"Dash? You home?" He called as he knocked on the door.

Within five seconds the door opened. "Scourge? What're you doing here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You're the iron pony. Correct?" He asked.

She struck a pose and brought a hoof to her chest. "Well I don't mean to brag, but yeah technically I am." She stated proudly.

"Great!" Scourge exclaimed. "Have you ever thought of training anypony personally?" He asked as he let himself in.

"Well yeah I've thought about it..." She said absentmindedly.

"I bet you're wondering why I'm here." Scourge said as they sat down. Dash's living room was as luxurious as the rest of her house.

"Yeah I am actually." She replied.

"I was wondering if you'd want to be like, my personal trainer. Or something to that extent." He said.

"Wow. Really?" She asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah really. I could pay you, I could give you anything you wanted." He said.

"Really?!" She asked, her eyes growing wider.

"Well I don't mean to brag but as you can imagine, my job pays very well." He boasted with a smirk.

"Are you bribing me?" She asked with a smirk that mirrored his.

"Maybe." He replied smoothly.

"Well to be honest, all I really want..." She trailed as she leaned in close to him, her muzzle a mere inch from his.

"...Is you." Suddenly she pushed her lips onto his, kissing him passionately. Scourge kissed her back, if only for a split second, out of instinct before he realized what he was doing.

He pushed her off of him as he got up from the couch and stood. "Rainbow we can't do this. This is wrong and you know it."

She chuckled as she got up from the couch and crouched in front of him, almost like a cat ready to pounce. "It's like you think I'm giving you a choice..." Her eyes narrowed. "I'm not."

Scourge bolted for the front door, but Rainbow was faster, so much faster. She was out the window and back in a blur. Scourge tried the door, it was locked.

"But- but that's impossible." Scourge said, backing up against the door. "It was unlocked when I came in."

"You should know Scourge, I'm the fastest in Equestria." She said seductively, flexing her wings.

He turned to look at the door. "I really didn't want to break anymore doors today. But desperate times call for desperate measures." He thought as he took a few steps back from the door and charged it, striking it with his shoulder.

The door flew off it's hinges and fell to the cloud below it. He shook off the impact before sprinting towards where he remembered leaving the balloon.

He arrived at the spot, but his only method of transport was gone. He looked up to see it tied to a cloud some two-hundred feet above him on another cloud.

He heard a giggle and turned to see Dash slowly advancing on him. Pure lust burned in her eyes.

Scourge took a step back onto nothing he quickly withdrew his hoof and looked over his shoulder. It was a very long way down. He shook his head. He had but a single option left. He was going to have to try and talk his way out of this.

"Rainbow, this is wrong. You know it. I know it. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this. But we can't." He said.

Rainbow slowed by only the tiniest degree as she asked. "Why not?"

"This is it. It's the only way to get her to stop. You have to tell her." He thought desperately.

"Because I already slept with Pinkie!" He nearly yelled.

Rainbow stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Scourge, her eyes wide. She took a step back. "You- you-" Suddenly her face turned red, and her cheeks filled with air. She began laughing hysterically. She fell to the cloud, tossing and turning as she laughed.

"W-why are you laughing?" He asked, dumfounded.

Dash suddenly zipped away and returned wearing a wig, still laughing. A wig that looked exactly like Pinkie Pie's hair.

"WHAT." Scourge breathed.

"You- you should see the look on your face!"

Scourge's surprise quickly turned to anger. "How could you do this?! Do you have any Idea how guilty I felt?" He began advancing on Dash. "This is too far! This wasn't pranking, this was just cruel!"

"I-I'm sorry I didn't think-" The cyan pegasus started to apologize, but was cut off.

"You know what? Screw you!" Scourge said, raising his voice. "Now I want you to get Pinkie's balloon for me. I'm going back to the surface."

"But Scourge I-" Again she was interrupted.

"NOW." He barked.

She flew over to the balloon and pushed it to the could Scourge jumped in before it was tethered down and began descending. Unfortunately, the balloon was a rather slow method of transport, so Scourge had plenty of time to think.

"You have to admire the work that went into that prank." His mind stated. "Pinkie must have had to get you so plastered that you would take off your crest, then she would have to feet so to drink until you passed out, or get you to pass out by some other methods. And where would they get a wig-"

"Shut up." Scourge muttered.

-----------

Scourge walked throughout the door of Rarity's home. He considered how everything that he had done today had been a complete waste of his time.

"Back so early?" Rarity called, fitting a few jewels on yet another dress.

"Yeah that whole thing with Dash isn't going to work." He replied, ascending the stairs to his guest bedroom.

"Oh, and why not?" She asked, curious.

"Remember that whole sleeping with Pinkie Pie deal?" He asked.

"Yes, but I real don't see wh-" Scourge cut her off.

"Prank." He growled before closing the door.

Rarity gasped and sat down on her couch. "But- but they stopped pranking. They kept taking it too far and hurting ponies. Why would they start doing that again?" She asked herself.

No answers came. None at all

-----------

*EDITOR'S NOTE*

First of all, I am sorry for the ridiculous delay. One thing led to another, and before I knew it, it was way overdue.

Secondly, I wand everyone to give an enormous hand to my editor, Firebirdtops. He is an extremely great editor and I would appreciate it if you end and read his stuff! As always, constructive criticism is much appreciated!

Well, that's pretty much all I have to say, see you all in the next chapter!