• Published 28th May 2016
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Hùndùn - LoZLttP13



A powerful young Sorceress, her faithful apprentice, and her five new friends are tasked with preventing the return of the all-powerful God of Chaos.

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II-IV. Scorpan

It was immediately apparent to everyone in Avalon Elementary that something was wrong. Several teachers, including Ms. Cheerilee, had called the role and found that several students were absent without explanation that day. If it were just one or two students, the teachers would have just assumed that they had gotten ill and would have a letter sent by their parents excusing them from attending that day. However, today almost a dozen children were gone with no forewarning or explanation from their parents. The faculty didn't wish to jump to the worst possible conclusions, but that Scorpan had just been released weighed heavily on their minds, despite the fact that they knew it to be quite unlikely that the God of Storms would be kidnapping young Beings from this rather unknown little farm town.

Nonetheless, the faculty decided to be more careful just in case, and so whenever their students went out to recess they always sent three or four more monitors out to watch over them.

It didn't take long for the children to notice their teachers' discomfort, their raised paranoia, or the sudden disappearance of some of their peers. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were especially worried; they had never had a recess during which Pipsqueak had not immediately approached them and talked to them. They asked some of his classmates about it, and they learned that he had been marked "absent" by Mrs. Honeycomb that day.

"Maybe Pip just got sick," Apple Bloom said to her friends hopefully after they had spoken to one of Pip's classmates. "Ah mean, it happens sometimes, right?"

"That's true...." Scootaloo said. "But, I don't know... we saw him this morning, and he looked completely fine to me...."

"Did you see Dinky, too?" Pip's classmate asked.

The Crusaders turned back to the younger girl. "Yeah, we did," Sweetie replied. "Why?"

"She's not here today, either," the girl replied. "I didn't see my cousin here, either. He's in another class, but we always meet up for lunch at recess."

The Crusaders exchanged deeply worried looks with each other.

"What's going on?" the little girl said, tearing up and trembling fearfully. "Do you think... do you think that Scorpan has them?"

"Ugh!" the Crusaders heard an annoyed, nasty voice shout from behind them. "Don't be such a crybaby! Of course Scorpan doesn't have them!"

The Crusaders turned to see Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, who were standing side-by-side and smirking haughtily at them. "You three are such drama queens!" Diamond continued, turning her nose up at them. "If you blank peasants knew anything about kidnappers, you'd know that they'd have no interest in any of you. Kidnappers go after kids with parents who have money, and the only one here whose parents are anyone is me."

Scootaloo glared at Diamond. "So you should be afraid, then," she said.

Diamond scoffed. "Hardly," she said haughtily. "I live in Avalon, where I'm surrounded by commoners. If someone were going to start kidnapping the children of nobles, they'd go to a high-end city like Athens or Olympus."

"Really?" Scootaloo said. She then smirked as she continued, "Riddle me this, then, Princess: Spike's sister was kidnapped, despite the fact that she's an orphan and has no money. They still haven't given her back. What could they want her for, then?"

At this, Diamond's arrogant smirk immediately vanished. "W-what?" she said quietly.

"Yeah," Scootaloo said. "You heard me. Sunset was kidnapped, even though she and Spike were poor as dirt. Do you have any idea why that is?"

Diamond's mouth was slightly open, but she remained silent.

"Money ain't the only reason Beings kidnap little kids," Scootaloo continued. "Don't tell me you're so sheltered you don't know what else they use 'em for. And I doubt Scorpan has much use for gold."

A wide, sadistic smile spread over Scootaloo's lips. "You know the legends about Scorpan, right? You know what the phrase 'rape, pillage, and burn' means, right?"

Diamond's eyes narrowed. "Shut up," she said with icy quietness.

Pretending not to hear her, Scootaloo continued, "What was your Special Talent that you're always bragging about all the time, again, Diamond? Your grace, poise, and beauty, right? Don't the legends say that the Dark Sealed Gods tend to prefer prettier captives?"

Diamond began to advance on Scootaloo, and Scootaloo could see a mixture of intense fury and terror in her eyes. "Shut the hell up, Scootaloo," Diamond growled.

Scootaloo smirked and hopped between her feet, tauntingly beckoning to Diamond. "Ooh, you wanna fight now, rich girl?" she said. "What's wrong? Afraid the big, bad Scorpan's gonna get ya?"

Diamond took another step towards Scootaloo, but Silver Spoon placed her hand on her shoulder, stopping her. "Don't," Silver said. "A lady does not get into fistfights."

Though still trembling a little, Diamond took a few deep breaths, then huffed and spun on her heels. She then walked away from Scootaloo, tossing her hair as she put her nose in the air.

"Tch," Scootaloo scoffed. "All bark and no bite, just like I thought."

"That went too far, Scootaloo," Sweetie said. Scootaloo surprisedly turned to her, and saw that Sweetie was glowering angrily at her. "That's not a joking matter, Scoot. No one deserves it."

"What're you guys talkin' about?" Apple Bloom said. Scootaloo and Sweetie turned to her, and saw that her expression was a mixture of confusion and fear. "W-what're you sayin' Scorpan'll do, Scoot?"

Scootaloo's eyes widened as she remembered: Apple Bloom was still quite innocent. She had no idea of the gravity of the situation at hand. Scootaloo opened her mouth, preparing to reply, but in the end no words came.

"Don't worry, Apple Bloom," Sweetie said, stepping up to Apple Bloom and placing her hands on her shoulders reassuringly. "It's nothing you should get worked up over. Scorpan's not going to get any of us. I promise."

Apple Bloom hesitantly nodded, but her eyes were still watery. Taking a deep breath, Scootaloo stepped forward and said, "She's right, Bloom. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even brought it up."

"Brought what up?" Apple Bloom said, her fear visually building up again.

"I was just pissed at Diamond, that's all," Scootaloo said, dodging the question. "I didn't like how she was dismissing all of us because we're not rolling in money like she is. I was just trying to scare her."

Scootaloo smirked, then placed her hand on Apple Bloom's shoulder as she continued, "Don't worry, Bloom. Even if Scorpan's after us, I'm not gonna let him touch you. I give you my word on my honor as a warrior."

Scootaloo pulled Apple Bloom into a brief embrace. "No one's gonna hurt ya, Bloom. I will protect you. I swear it," she whispered into Apple Bloom's ear as she did so.

When Scootaloo pulled away from Apple Bloom, she saw that she was blushing slightly. With another smirk, Scootaloo spun around and began walking towards the jungle gym.

Apple Bloom gazed after Scootaloo for a few moments, rather confused as to what had just happened. Scootaloo's action and promise were both rather intense, and the tone with which she had sworn, "I will protect you...."

Apple Bloom looked down. She couldn't quite put her finger on what, but there was a special sort of quality about that vow Scootaloo had made. Something that seemed almost... intimate....


"Remember to go home with a buddy, everyone," Ms. Cheerilee said to her class upon the completion of the school day. "Try to walk with a neighbor, so that you'll have someone with you until you're all back safe and sound."

"Yes, Ms. Cheerilee," the students chorused back, then they all began packing up their supplies and finding buddies to travel home with, if they hadn't gotten one already.

Aura, a rather small, quiet Human girl with straight turquoise hair who sat at the back, saw as Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon paired up to return to the Rich Estate together. She also overheard Rumble say to Scootaloo, "You said that you're not going home after class today, right?"

"Yep," Scootaloo replied. "Me, Sweetie, and Bloom are headed to our clubhouse for a meeting."

Rumble shrugged. "That's cool. Guess I'll have to find another traveling buddy, then."

Aura caught her breath and flinched. Rumble didn't have a buddy. Her face flushed intensely as she turned to gaze at him.

Rumble was Aura's neighbor, though she'd never approached him to talk to him since he'd arrived at the little house next door to her own a few years ago. It wasn't that Aura disliked him; heavens, no. Aura was just quite shy; especially in the presence of Rumble Lane, who was one of the cutest and handsomest boys she'd ever encountered. Like her, Rumble was quiet and rather withdrawn, but nonetheless Aura knew that a lot of girls had crushes on him. The only reason no one had asked him out yet was because everyone was sure that he already had Scootaloo for a girlfriend.

Aura knew better. She couldn't exactly place why, but she could see that the connection between Rumble and Scootaloo went no further than simple friendship. A close friendship, to be sure, but nothing more nonetheless. Aura also didn't know why she was able to tell, though all of the other girls in her grade couldn't seem to. Maybe it was just because she had a deeper and longer obsession with the poor, beautiful boy next door out of any of them.

Aura might not get another chance to be alone with Rumble. The idea was terrifying to her, but simultaneously quite enticing; as nervous as Rumble made her, she still very deeply liked him, and would have liked nothing more than to spend time with him.

In a burst of sudden, unexpectedly great courage, Aura found herself standing up and walking towards Rumble. The seconds it took for her to stroll between their desks somehow felt like hours and an instant at the same time. A beat of sweat rolled down Aura's burning cheek as she wrung her hands and began trembling.

Aura found herself standing before Rumble, and yet unable to utter a word to him. Her mind had gone blank, and she found herself reaching desperately for something to say, yet she couldn't find any.

After a few moments, Rumble turned and saw her. His eyes widened, then he smiled gently. "Hey, Aura," he said warmly.

Aura looked down at her grasped, trembling hands as she waveringly replied, "H-hi, Rumble...."

Rumble silently gazed at Aura for a moment, his face in an expression of confusion and worry. "You alright, Aura?" he said.

Aura swallowed and nodded.

Unable to guess why Aura seemed to be so frightened, Rumble simply muttered, "Alright," and continued to gaze wonderingly at her.

After a few more moments of tense silence, Rumble suddenly grinned as an idea occurred to him. "Hey! You live next door to me! Why don't we walk home together?"

Aura flinched and looked back up at Rumble. "R-really?" she whispered.

Rumble nodded, beaming. "Yeah! It'll be fun! Come on; grab your backpack and let's get going."

As Rumble stood up from his chair and picked up his bag, Aura stared astonishedly at him, her mind reeling at what had just happened. Had... had he really just asked her to walk home with him? Not even in her absurdest imaginings had Aura imagined events would transpire in that way....

As Rumble finished shoveling his books into his bag and zipping it up, he turned back to Aura and said confusedly, "Hey, you coming, Aura?"

Eyes widening with stunned elation, Aura grinned and cried, "Y-yes, Rumble! I'd... I'd like that...."

Flashing her another grin, Rumble jerked his head towards the doorway. "Come on, then," he said.

Beaming and flushing with equal intensity, Aura slid her backpack on and jogged after Rumble as he led her out of their classroom.

It was a quiet walk back to their neighborhood. Aura had no problem with this; that Rumble was a man of few words was one of the things she liked so much about him. While other boys would roughhouse or belch during recess Rumble was perfectly content just to sit quietly in the shade of a big tree and sketch graffiti-style marker drawings in his sketchbook.

Aura was the only classmate of Rumble who paid enough attention to his work that she could recognize his style. She had deduced that it was he who was responsible for the beautiful spray-painted graffiti murals she had found on the sides of several buildings and other concrete structures. Aura generally hated illegal spray-painted graffiti; they were by and large vulgar and disturbing pieces of garbage that the artists had made purely because they weren't allowed to. But Rumble was different. He was completely penniless, and had only gotten a sketchbook and set of markers as a gift from Ms. Cheerilee. Before then, it was clear that he was still simply bursting with creativity, and needed some kind of outlet for it. Aura knew that Rumble would paint legally if he could, as his pieces were always on old, abandoned houses, hidden underneath bridges, or in some other unbothersome, out-of-the-way location. This only made Aura like them more; after all, they were some of the most beautiful paintings she had ever seen, but she had to go looking for them, which made finding one just like discovering a hidden treasure.

Rumble and Aura were strolling beside an iron fence dividing the cobblestone road they walked upon from a long line of beautiful, reddening, well-maintained peach trees. Aura turned to gaze at Rumble, and fell into a hypnoses-like trance, just admiring the impoverished boy in tattered clothes' stunning, stunning face....

A bright flash of blue. With a startled scream, Aura's head whipped back straight ahead as she stumbled and fell backwards, landing in a painful, hard sit. Rumble, who was too shocked to speak, stayed absolutely still as he stared with rapidly-building fear at what stood before them.

Scorpan smirked and chuckled softly.

"H-Heeeeeelp!" Aura screamed, turning and scrambling back to her feet. However, just before she could begin running away, she felt some kind of force pull at her entire body, causing her feet to drag through the dirt beneath her. She began running, but it was no use; she continued to slowly, steadily inch backwards towards the malevolent God.

Aura tried to scream, "Somebody help!!" but though she could feel her throat vibrate with the words, only silence came from her mouth.

Scorpan sniggered cruelly as he continued to telekinetically pull the little girl towards his outstretched hand. He didn't have to make her movement this agonizingly slow, of course, but nothing gave him quite so much pleasure as making a mortal girl feel utterly, despairingly terrified and powerless. "Yes, scream for help, girl," he said softly. "Scream as loud as you can. Run with every ounce of your strength. Go find help. I'm just standing here, after all; you have every opportunity to get away from me. Aren't you going to take it...?"

Aura began weeping with terror, and she continued to drift steadily towards Scorpan, despite the fact that she was running so hard that her arms, legs, and abdomen were aflame with pain.

Scorpan's smile widened. "Oh? You don't want to leave, little girl? Just say the word, and I'll release you...."

Still silent. Still trapped. Aura slowly stopped running as she soundlessly sobbed in defeated despair.

Scorpan scoffed. "Just like a girl, isn't it?" he said mockingly. "You all put up such a fight, even though deep down you really do want it...."

With a cruel, booming laugh, Scorpan telekinetically lifted Aura into the air, spun her around to face him, then shot her to his hand and caught her by the throat.

As the the glowing blue Ether faded from Scorpan's Marks and eyes, he looked between the two struggling, weeping children he was holding in the air with immense, deep satisfaction. "My, look at these ones!" he cried with great exhilaration, like a child who had just opened a particularly magnificent birthday present. "Aren't you two pretty little poppets!"

With another bright flash, Scorpan teleported himself and his newest prisoners back to his camp, where his followers were diligently awaiting him. They were standing on a Teleportation Circle in a clearing of the Everfree Forest, where several canvas tents surrounded a fire pit where several dangerous-looking young men were drinking, smoking, and laughing. It was by far the most frightening sight Rumble or Aura had ever seen.

Scorpan's disciples cheered at his arrival; once his reception died down, he lifted Aura higher into the air and cried, "Look at this one, brothers! Her little body's beginning to take a deliciously womanly shape. No doubt we'll get a generous sum for the privilege of breaking her in...."

The brothers laughed, whooped, and whistled in agreement and approval.

Scorpan lowered Aura, to which two of his followers promptly shackled and gagged her before carrying her towards a small wooden shed. As they opened the door and carried her in, Scorpan lifted Rumble higher as he said, "And this, I think, is the prettiest boy we've yet collected."

As the brothers began cruelly laughing, however, Scorpan slowly stopped smiling as he met Rumble's horrified, tearful gaze. "Wait a moment...." Scorpan muttered, to which his followers all fell silent.

After staring into Rumble's eyes for a moment, Scorpan's lips again broke into an enormous smile. "Well, well, well!" he cried, his eyes narrowing with sadistic glee. "It seems that this little lad is a fairy, as well!"

After a moment, Scorpan's followers all burst into laughter again, though it was far crueler this time. Scorpan brought Rumble closer to him, so that their faces were mere centimeters apart. "You're in for a treat, then," he said with soft, sickly sweetness. "You are a very. lucky. boy."

Rumble was soon shackled and gagged, as well, and several of the fraternal brothers taunted him as he was carried past them. He didn't understand what any of them said, but he could easily detect the dripping cruelty and malice in their words.

"I bet this is a dream come true, huh, cherry-boy?"

"How many deposits you've got already, fag?"

"This little sicko's gonna like eating a cock for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!"

Surrounded only by viciousness and fear, Rumble closed his eyes and began sobbing as he was carried into the shed, as well.

Once the shed door was slammed shut again, Scorpan clapped his hands together cheerfully. "Just a baker's dozen left," he said. He turned to Noir and asked, "Are the parts for the contraption prepared yet?"

"Nearly, my Lord," Noir replied deferentially.

Scorpan nodded approvingly. "Excellent. I'll go find the rest we'll need to complete the set. I'll be back shortly."

With another bright flash, Scorpan vanished.

Scorpan materialized over a rectangular prism of sky marble that was levitating on top of a cloud. It was just large enough to support him, and had another Teleportation Circle etched into it. This airborne Circle was suspended high above Avalon, where Scorpan could silently fly over the town without being detected.

Scorpan leapt off of the Circle, then began silently gliding in slowly descending circles over Avalon. Like a hawk, he was carefully watching the streets for another set of prey. To his pleasure, he found a pair of beautiful little Human girls walking down one of the emptier paths.

Scorpan descended until he silently touched down to the rooftop of one of the houses beside them, where he could get a closer look at them. The two girls were clearly from a wealthy household; he could tell by the precious jewel earrings and fine clothing they wore. The one he guessed was the young noble woman had striped lavender hair, icy blue eyes, and wore a diamond-encrusted tiara upon her head. The other girl, who Scorpan guessed was her servant companion, had braided silver hair and was wearing a pair of stylish eyeglasses with light blue rims.

Smirking, Scorpan silently darted between the rooftops the two girls passed, waiting for the perfect opportunity. They were near Rich Manor, which was largely quiet at the moment, though Scorpan had to be absolutely sure no one would be alerted when he kidnapped the heiress and her handmaid; Baron Rich almost certainly had a private guard, after all, who would immediately be alerted if either girl cried for help. That would make it more difficult for Scorpan to catch the remaining eleven children he needed, so he honed his focus on his highly sensitive ears to find a moment when there would be as few people nearby as possible.

Scorpan flinched, however, when he heard his name being spoken by one of the girls.

"... you believe Scootaloo said that?! Ugh! I'm going to tell my mother she said Scorpan would get me, and you can fucking bet my mom's gonna have her expelled!"

The other girl, who seemed to largely agree with her, nonetheless replied, "Well, she did have a point, Diamond. I mean, why would Scorpan need to go after rich kids? He's a God; he's probably rolling in gold already."

Diamond scoffed haughtily. "Oh, please. Whatever; Scorpan would have to be an idiot to come after me."

Scorpan couldn't help himself. The irony was too tantalizing. The moment was just too perfect. He teleported to the girls' path. As they were astonishedly staring at him, he said mockingly, "Would I, now?"

Before either girl could cry for help, Scorpan swiftly grabbed them by their throats, lifted them up into the air, then teleported back to his camp. His routine had become rather dull, he had to admit, but this catch had been especially fun.

"Two more pretty little birds," Scorpan said, smirking at the children he held. "They sounded full of personality, too. They will be perfect."

Rather than struggle to escape, Diamond gripped Scorpan's thumb and fingers, pulled herself up a little, then cried, "P-please don't hurt me, Your Highness! My daddy's rich; he'll give you anything you want-!"

Scorpan's followers all burst into laughter. "Is that so?" Scorpan said. "Don't worry, girl; I have no intention of harming you in any way. Assuming nothing goes wrong, that is. But I don't want any gold...."

Here Scorpan brought Diamond's terrified face close to his own. "All I want is to have pretty little prisoners like you."

Diamond cried, though she was partially gagged by Scorpan's grip, "Y-you want p-pretty girls? We- we know where you can f-find some! Three of them!"

Scorpan turned to gaze interestedly at Silver Spoon. "Is that so...?" he said.

"Y-yes!" Diamond shouted, drawing Scorpan's attention back to her. "If you l-let us go, we'll tell you where they are!"

Scorpan grinned. "Very well," he said. "Tell me, then, and I'll release you."

After a moment of hesitation, Diamond cried, "They call themselves th-the Cutie Mark C-Crusaders. If- if you go to the east of town, y-you'll find a farm there. They- they're in a clubhouse in one of the t-trees!"

Scorpan smilingly nodded. "You have my deepest gratitude, Miss." He then held Diamond and Silver out to his followers, idly commanding them, "Take them to the rest."

"W-what?!" Diamond cried fearfully as she and Silver were shackled. "But you promised-!"

A gag was then abruptly pulled over Diamond's mouth, silencing her. Scorpan softly smiled as he knelt down and placed his finger under her chin. "My dear, why in the world did you believe I would release you? You are a little mortal girl; it is beneath me to honor a promise to the likes of you." A hungry look flashed across Scorpan's eye. "However... I really am grateful for your help...." he continued.

Here Scorpan gently stroked Diamond's face, causing her to whimper and tremble at his touch. "You're a rare little flower, as well," Scorpan said. "I think I'll play with you first. And to show my gratitude, I promise that I'll be... gentle."

Terrified tears welled in Diamond's eyes as she made a muffled, despairing cry. Scorpan's followers all burst into laughter again before they carried her and Silver into the same shed their peers had been confined in.


There was a frantic knocking on Twilight's door. Arching a brow in curiosity, Twilight stood up from her writing desk, went to the portal, and opened it.

Ditzy Do stood on the other side. She was livid with panic, and the second the entrance was open, she cried, "Have you seen Dinky, Twilight?! Do you know where she is?!"

"N-no," Twilight replied quietly. "What's going-?"

Ditzy clawed at the top of her head and crouched down. "I can't find her anywhere!" she cried. "She was supposed to be home two hours ago! Where could she have possibly-?!"

Twilight knelt down and placed her hands on Ditzy's shoulders. "Take a breath," she said as calmly as she could. "Deep breaths. In...."

As Twilight coached Ditzy through a few calming breaths, Spike emerged from his bedroom, holding a comic, and said concernedly, "What's wrong, Twilight?"

Twilight turned to Spike. "Dinky's missing," she said. "Stay with Ditzy, alright? I'm going to find out what happened."

Though clearly quite shocked, Spike nodded and swiftly scaled the stairs to Ditzy's side. He gently led her to the sofa as Twilight ran out of the library into the town.

Twilight soon learned that no one else had seen Dinky, either; every Being she asked had no idea what happened to her, nor had seen her since she had left school with Pipsqueak. However, upon learning that she was supposed to have walked home with Pipsqueak, Twilight immediately rushed to David Baker and Rose Luck's house, where she urgently knocked on the door.

She was promptly answered by David, who looked every bit as worried as Ditzy had been, but there was a spark of hope in his eyes that disappeared the instant he saw Twilight.

"Doctor Baker," Twilight said. "Is Dinky or Pipsqueak here?"

David shook his head. "N-no, Ms. Sparkle," he said waveringly. "We have no idea where Pipsqueak is. He hasn't come home, even though school ended hours ago, so Rose went out to look for him while I wait here to see if he comes back."

This was getting worse every minute. Twilight immediately ran to the house of Ms. Cheerilee; when she arrived at the charming little cottage that was only blocks away from Fluttershy's, she again knocked. When Ms. Cheerilee answered, she looked little better than the panicking parents Twilight had met moments ago.

"Ms. Cheerilee! Have you seen Dinky Do or Pipsqueak?" Twilight said, half-panting.

Ms. Cheerilee shook her head. "No, Twilight, I haven't; in fact, they were absent at class today. Several children were missing from class today, in fact; not just mine. So they really have gone missing?"

Twilight was now completely panicked. With nothing more than a nod, she spun around and began running towards Sweet Apple Acres.

She had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but Twilight had to assume the worst: that Scorpan was kidnapping Avalon's children. Twilight hoped that this wasn't the case, but if it was, she had no time to lose. The Crusaders might be in danger, so she had to get to them as soon as possible.


Because he'd likely blow his cover while catching three girls, Scorpan saved the Cutie Mark Crusaders for last. He now had ninety-nine children collected in his little prison, but he decided that having an extra two couldn't hurt. Sure, it would mean two more mouths to feed, but they were going to pay for themselves in the end.

However, Scorpan was having some difficulty finding them. He had glided over the easternmost section of Avalon several times now, but he could not see any farms.

Scorpan's eyes widened in sudden realization. His eyes then narrowed with fury as he let out a low growl. "Why, that lying... little... cunt!" he spat.

Scorpan landed on one of the rooftops, and it took every ounce of his willpower to not scream ragingly at the heavens. He merely muttered under his breath, though each one of his words was flaming with anger, "She lied to me. The little whore lied to me. Well, I wonder how much someone would be willing to pay to cover her little backside in whip-scars?!"

Scorpan then flew westward; because Diamond had come up with her misdirection in little more than an instant, Scorpan immediately deduced that she had given him the opposite direction of where the other three girls really were. Sure enough, he soon found an enormous apple orchard, and was able to quickly find the clubhouse that Diamond had spoken of.

Scorpan's landing before the clubhouse's entrance was quite hard, causing a resounding thunk to reverberate from where he'd hit the wooden porch. He then kicked the door open; on the other side, he saw three mortal girls the same age as Diamond and Silver. He smiled wickedly and growled, "There you are."

The girls began shrieking, but Scorpan telekinetically grabbed them before they could run away. However, he was caught completely by surprise; Scootaloo suddenly leapt towards his head. Flapping her wings to heighten her jump, Scootaloo kicked Scorpan's nose, badly breaking it.

A fountain of blood poured from Scorpan's nose as he grabbed it and howled in pain. The Ether around the Crusaders dissipated, dropping them back to the ground. "Run, guys!" Scootaloo shouted. "I'll hold him off!"

"But- Scoot-!!" Sweetie shouted.

"JUST GO!!" Scootaloo screamed, directing a hard strike at Scorpan's crotch.

As Scorpan doubled over in agony, Sweetie and Apple Bloom fled from the clubhouse and ran towards the farm house without another word. Scootaloo tried to run after them, but she tripped as Scorpan grabbed her ankle from under her.

Scorpan slowly stood up, suspending Scootaloo by her leg. He glowered at her as she thrashed, kicked, and screamed, and his pain slowly faded as the bruises on his genitals healed and the wounds in his nose closed up.

"That was a mistake, Angel," Scorpan growled as he shot his free hand forward to grab Scootaloo by the throat. "You are going to pay dearly for it."

There was a bright, blue flash, then Scorpan and Scootaloo were gone.